Is there a gay barbie

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Gay people are no different than straight people. No two collectors' stories that I’ve heard have been the same. Fortunately, it eventually healed without leaving a mark.

The barely-hidden fear my dad and other adults had about me playing with dolls was that it might make me gay. However, rather than being rewarded with a seat next to him, I was ridiculed.

By embracing Barbie and her world, collectors reclaim a piece of their past while shaping a vision of their future—one that is colorful, diverse, and uniquely their own.

References

vulture.com/article/barbie-earring-magic-ken-story.html

Instagram image: peterandrewdanziglscw

Even as a child I knew it was meant to steer me towards masculine, socially acceptable playtime activities for boys.

Each one comes with a longer wig and neutral clothing, allowing kids to dress and play with their dolls however they like.

In 2017, Mattel posted an Instagram photo of Barbie wearing a “Love Wins” t-shirt, sitting next to a doll modeled after fashion designer Aimee Song wearing the same shirt in a different color. In Gerwig’s Barbie, he’s the only non-Ken man in Barbie Land and he spends his time yearning after Ken while Ken spends his time “beaching” and yearning after Barbie.

Although Allan isn’t explicitly queer either in Mattel canon or in Barbie, the subtext is undeniable.

For years, the ripped gowns sat in a drawer ― a reminder of both my tantrum and my transgression into a shameful desire deemed inappropriate for my gender. He has a ton of other outfits in his neatly organized closet, any and all of which he’s happy to show off.

Ken is initially a villain and he and Barbie are on opposite sides of an all-out toy war, which prompts her to tie him up and rip apart his beloved clothes in front of him as a form of torture.

is there a gay barbie

They also educate, provoke dialogue, and provide representation that was long denied in mainstream toys.

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Queer Barbies Go Back Further Than You Might Think

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For many people in the LGBTQIA2S+ community, creating queer stories with Barbie and Ken dolls is a rite of passage—but the actual queer history of Barbie flies in the face of her role as a hyper-femme, heterosexual icon.

They did not come out to look at my new doll and, instead, went so far as to lock their patio door so I could not enter.

A few days after that experience ― which I still view as a traumatic incident ― I received a dump truck as a gift. Intriguingly, Barbie herself ― and what she potentially meant to the boys who played with her ― doesn’t seem to be mentioned when I looked through these articles.

These weren’t toys for children, but rather statements about identity, body politics, and beauty standards. Perhaps it’s reductive to argue that this representation of Ken is queer-coded, but most if not all characters in the Toy Story franchise are extremely stereotypical, so of course he is too.

Who the heck is Allan?

Allan (or Alan), played by Michael Cera in Barbie, was introduced as “Ken’s buddy” in 1964, just three years after Ken himself debuted.

Since her debut at the New York Toy Fair in March 9, 1959, Barbie has been a femme icon whose aesthetics have inspired makeup and fashion lines, as well as entire characters and lifestyles. Fire Island and Provincetown gardens didn’t have gnomes, instead they were decorated with Barbies in their bushes. This has been a significant experience in my clinical practice: Through Barbie, many gay men find a voice in expressing themselves through collections, highly curated displays that bring joy, creativity, and play which are critical throughout the lifespan.

Cultural Significance: A Connection to the Gay Experience

The cultural significance of Barbie has been debated since her scandalous debut in 1959.

While mainstream doll lines ignored queer identities for decades, artists, eventually toy companies began creating dolls that reflect the diversity of gender and sexuality.

The first significant gay doll was the anatomically correct Gay Bob in 1977. I follow an account called Rolliedolls on Instagram that makes hilarious queer scenes with dolls.

Mattel introduced a line called Creatable World gender-neutral dolls with mix-and-match clothing, skin tones and hair types and introduced a Laverne Cox Barbie modeled after transgender actress Laverne Cox.

There’s a line of RuPaul drag dolls.