The future of gay Barbie dolls and the history of Earring Magic Ken

When it comes to gay Barbie dolls, the Mattel toy company hasn’t always been a pioneer, but they have always been the center of the conversation. For instance, have you heard of Earring Magic Ken? He’s the first (unintentionally) gay-coded Barbie doll created by Mattel in 1993.

And for all we know, Earring Magic Ken instigated the unfounded fear among fragile masculine fathers regarding the notion that playing with dolls could lead to their sons becoming gay.

With Greta Gerwig’s Barbie set to hit theaters this July, we decided to take a look back at the LGBTQ+ ties of this iconic toy and what the future of queer Barbies might hold.

Let us take you on a journey back (and forward) in time to find out…

The history of the gay Ken doll

Barbie was officially launched as a toy on March 9, 1959 by American toy company Mattel, and her boyfriend, Ken, made his debut two years later.

For many years after, Ken was seen as the more masculine counterpart to Barbie’s femininity. But in 1993, Mattel released Earring Magic Ken, a doll that quickly became an accidental gay icon.

How did Earring Magic Ken come to be?

Earring Magic Ken was inspired by a survey of young girls who said they wanted a “cooler” and more fashionable Ken doll. Seemingly without much hesitation, Mattel took that feedback and created a doll with bleached quiff hair, tight jeans, a mesh shirt, a leather vest, and an infamous earring.

Because he fit nearly every single early-90s gay stereotype, conversations grew around Ken’s sexuality and he quickly became a highly sought-after Barbie especially among gay men—resulting in the doll selling out by Christmastime shortly after its debut.

Related:

That time Mattel made a gay Ken doll then freaked out when everyone else freaked out

“We’re not in the business of putting c*ck rings into the hands of little girls!” Lisa McKendall, Mattel’s head of marketing and communications, said at the time.

The present time and Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie

Fast forward to today and we have the new Barbie movie from Greta Gerwig is set to hit theaters on July 21, 2023.

We’re already obsessed with its extremely campy trailers and that its cast features multiple LGBTQ+ actors including Hari Nef, Scott Evans, and Kate McKinnon.

Not to mention the fab new ads highlighting the cast and characters that quickly went viral on social media:

Meet our Barbies and Kens ?#BarbieTheMovie pic.twitter.com/KO2pwszXNJ

— Barbie Movie (@barbiethemovie) April 4, 2023

pic.twitter.com/3m0xYN7RYC

— Barbie Movie (@barbiethemovie) April 4, 2023

pic.twitter.com/K5ND3g8pQp

— Barbie Movie (@barbiethemovie) April 4, 2023

AI Barbie: What might future gay Barbie dolls look like?

With the Barbie movie’s release of a Barbie selfie generator powered by AI for anyone who wants to create their own versions of their fun Barbie ads above, we just HAD to explore the possibilities of AI-generated Barbies for ourselves…and let’s just say, the results are pretty amazing!

Lesbian Barbie in the year 2050

Gay cyborg Ken doll

Bisexual Barbie and Ken dolls in the year 3000

Futuristic trans Barbie doll

Queer Barbie doll on Mars

Robot drag queen Ken doll

There you have it, folks. A brief glimpse into the history of Earring Magic Ken and what LGBTQ+ Barbie dolls might look like in the future.

While we can’t predict the future of queer Barbie dolls just yet, it’s safe to say that they’ll all be incredibly stylish and fabulous.

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