Skip to main content

I am Ken-in-Roller-Skates Years Old

 This weekend a friend and I went through the clothes and the dolls that I played with as a kid (and she has an amazing memory on the clothes. This website is quite the resource if you're interested: BarbieWorld.it ). I had A LOT of Barbies and accessories. There was the Barbie pool, the piano, the three-story townhouse. I had an RV, an airplane, and a boat. And then there were the dolls themselves. Yes, I had lots of Barbies but there were also Skippers and Midges and Christies. But today, we have to talk about Ken.

This is my first Ken Doll: Roller Skating Ken c.1980. The short tight shorts, the shiny purple jacket, the Addidas style roller skates. He's so retro, what's not to love?


I can't pretend to remember why six-year old me needed a Ken doll at that point. I was never as gung-ho about the guys because for me Barbie was about Fashion shows and climbing mountains, and sleepovers. But there were definitely days Ken was part of their entourage. I didn't have Roller Skating Barbie - I was a Malibu girl (I'll post pictures of Barbie's 1973 surfboard soon)

But what my walk through Barbie nostalgia has reassured me is that the Greta Gerwig movie got his personality exactly right! Ken was always insecure and worried about who Barbie was seeing. These are screenshots of newsletters and cartoons from Barbie magazines between 1981 and 1984.



 


Yep. Ken was jealous of Ronald McDonald. (I had Twirly Curls Barbie, the cat Fluffy, the pool on the side, and yes, the McDonald's playset - all pictured in the ad.)

For Ruth Handler, the creator of Barbie doll, Ken always was an appendage. Handler did not want Barbie, a career girl/woman to be saddled with a husband.  She was intended to be an independent carer woman capable of making her own decisions. In fact, Handler had not planned on creating a boyfriend for Barbie and only caved to the marketing campaign which surveyed girls in the 60s and asked what additions they would like to see to the Barbie line. Their clamoring for a boyfriend is what caused Handler to cave to demand.

As this awesome, headbanded-Ken illustrates. his job is not only Beach. His job is actively to be Barbie's Biggest Fan.



And if you also belive that Ken is "Kenough" feel free to visit my etsy store for a chance to create his thoughts in cross stitch ;)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Barbie as Iconic Musician

 It has been in the news recently that Mattel has released Barbie as Mariah Carey and as Stevie Nicks. Both of these dolls continue a long tradition of recreating Barbie as iconic stars who will appeal to kids, to the parents who buy dolls for their kids, and to adult collectors. For what it's worth, both dolls are currently sold out on Amazon and already listed (as of November 17) on eBay for $150. The collector's market and upsale of collectibles is alive and well. This series of dolls is intended to represent role models as well as fashion icons. I have to say, this line of dolls has never appealed to me over much. There is nothing wrong with them, but I have always gotten Barbies that were not "Mattel-style-doll-recreated-to-resemble(ish)-someone-famous." When I was looking through my collection in storage last week I came across two other iconic Barbie recreations from 25 years ago. Barbie Loves Frank Sinatra and Barbie Loves Elvis. In both of these Box Sets the
Post a Comment
Read more

Crafting and Barbies

 Two fundamental things about me:  I have had Barbie dolls since before I was two years old. They were a stable part of my childhood long past the age many kids played with dolls. I grew up doing crafts. My mom and grandma taught me to cross stitch, needlepoint, and knit (although I have long ago forgotten that particular craft). I don't sit still and if I'm watching TV there's a good chance I have a needle and a project in my lap. ( okay, let's be honest, it's 2023, there are definite evenings it's a mindless puzzle game on my tablet. ) Which means that while I have extra time on my hands I took the opportunity to combine those two aspects and created two Barbie cross stitch patterns this fall Both projects are smaller than 4" square and are perfect for a crafter who has never done cross stitch. They're simple and can be finished in a short amount of time. But they also are quintissential to today's Barbie love and the resurgence of attention becau
Post a Comment
Read more