Queer icon to sugar daddy, Barbie's boyfriend Ken has had his own fair share of controversy
Barbie's controversial boyfriend. An unintentional queer icon. Conservatives' worst nightmare. And even a "sugar daddy". The Ken doll has been many things at once. (photo-DailyO)
Even though the Margot Robbie-starrer Barbie is slated for a July release, the new trailer has already created enough hype for the movie. Directed by Greta Gerwig, the film aims to be a satire on the unrealistic Utopia in which the doll Barbie and her male counterpart Ken inhabit.
With multiple Barbies and Kens featured in the trailer, Ryan Gosling leads the starcast as one of the Kens. But even though all these dolls have been “plastic”, Barbie still seems to have more of a personality than Ken, be it in the real-life toy business or in Gerwig’s movie.
In fact, the latest batch of Barbie character posters that dropped, introduce Robbie’s Barbie as “She is everything”, while Gosling’s Ken is described as “He’s just Ken”.
Obviously overshadowed by Barbie’s global popularity, people (barring the diehard Barbie and Ken experts-collectors) tend to sideline Ken and understandably so. It is Barbie who rakes in most of the profits.
As for Ken…he is quite the controversial posterboy of the toy world.
Ken: A “feminine” boy?
It is common knowledge that both Barbie and Ken have drawn criticism from body positivity advocates for promoting unrealistic body standards as “desirable”. But there are also conservatives in the US and elsewhere who are often hellbent on boycotting Ken for him being too much of a “feminine” man.
These “meninist”-like elements are bothered with Ken lacking male genitalia (but so does Barbie, these are children’s toys after all) and sporting a waxed look.
Earring Magic Ken: Queer Icon and Homophobes’ worst nightmare
If Ken wasn’t masculine enough for some, 1993 found Barbie creators Mattel releasing the Earring Magic Ken. This particular version of Ken was quite the style icon, with his blonde highlights, lavender mesh shirt, a necklace with a circular charm and, of course, an earring in his left ear.
Ken was “just Ken” before Earring Magic Ken dropped in stores. With all the popularity and controversy this figurine generated, it ended up becoming the highest-selling Ken doll in Mattel’s production history.
Some homophobic customers instantly took offence, calling Earring Magic Ken a “gay doll” due to his flamboyant fashion choices. Even the circular ring on his necklace started to be seen as “a chrome cock ring”.
And while the 90s (and occasionally even modern pop culture unfortunately) tend to get tonedeaf with stereotypical representations of gay men as flashy and flamboyant, many queer men actually loved the doll and bought it in large numbers.
Around 1993’s Christmas, the doll was sold out due to queer customers buying it in hordes. Finally, Ken began to share the spotlight that was Barbie's. It seemed that much like Barbie, the blonde look proved to be the lucky charm for him (as he usually sports brown hair).
That year, Earring Magic Ken also featured on the cover of The New York Times’ Arts and Leisure section. But then with the homophobic backlash, Mattel decided to stand with its customer base of largely heterosexual parents and stopped production in 1994.
Diversity in the Ken World
The 2000s was a significant decade for Ken as just like many celebrity couples, Mattel announced in 2004 that Barbie and Ken have broken up. They remained friends until 2011 when on Valentine’s Day, the two reunited. Yes, we are still talking about dolls.
In a more politically charged environment, Mattel took it upon itself to craft more diverse Barbies in different skin tones and cultural outfits. India has had its own desi Barbies, complete with a saree and even a Barbie designed in the likeness of Katrina Kaif.
As for Ken, he joined the diversity game pretty late and so far, we have only had one international Ken doll: the Japanese Ken. Since 2021, many more skin tones have been introduced for Ken for a more international approach. Diversity among Kens is also evident from Gerwig’s film that features Shang-Chi’s Simu Liu and Sex Education’s Ncuti Gatwa also playing Kens along with Gosling.
Sugar Daddy Ken (yes, he also exists)
But if there is a Ken vibrant that can rival Earring Magic Ken in terms of controversy, that would be Sugar Daddy Ken. Launched in the spring of 2010, Sugar Daddy Ken was a part of Barbie’s Palm Beach line that was intended for adult collectors. And yet, even adults had issues with his suggestive-sounding name. Mattel defended itself by clarifying that the posh-looking Ken comes with a dog called Sugar, technically making him “Sugar’s Daddy”!
Here’s hoping that Sugar Daddy Ken and Earring Magic Ken hopefully get featured in Gerwig’s Barbie film this year (as for the latter, this would also mark his 30th anniversary).