No, Barbie doesn't officially have a girlfriend; she's traditionally depicted with Ken as her boyfriend, but viral images and fan interpretations fueled speculation she's a lesbian or bisexual, especially after a 2017 photo series with fashion designer Aimee Song in "Love Wins" shirts led to jokes and discussions about queer representation in the brand, though Mattel positions Barbie as an inclusive ally, allowing fans to imagine her with any identity.
It's none other than Aimee Song. Photos from 2017 of Barbie and a doll in Aimee Song's likeness wearing “Love Wins” t-shirts are circulating on social media, prompting many to wonder how we missed Barbie coming out as queer.
Soon after Barbie's introduction, in 1961, Ken was introduced as Barbie's boyfriend, named after Handler's son Kenneth. Ken's character added depth to Barbie's world, representing the all-American boy-next-door, complete with a variety of careers and outfits.
No, Barbie dolls themselves don't have sexual orientations as they are inanimate objects, but the Barbie movie and franchise have embraced LGBTQ+ themes and representation, featuring queer actors, coding characters like Allan and certain Kens with queer energy, and including openly LGBTQ+ characters like Daisy in animated series, making the world inclusive.
In the Barbie mythos, Ken met Barbie on the set of a TV commercial and is her boyfriend, per promotional box inscriptions from his debut until 2018. As of September 2022, he is perceived as one of Barbie's main friends.
The two start off as good friends, but their feelings change for one another throughout the show. Several times, romantic feelings are hinted at between the two characters, until they can eventually share their first kiss in Barbie: Epic Road Trip.
Barbie never married or had any children. And that's because Ruth Handler didn't want to reinforce the idea that young girls should ONLY aspire to being someone's wife or mother.
The Ken doll was introduced in 1961 by Mattel as the counterpart to Barbie. He was created by Elliot Handler. The first Ken doll didn't have bendable arms, his head could only turn left and right, and his hair was made from felt.
We already know that Mattel is not opposed to playing with gender, having launched a “Gender Neutral Doll” in 2019, or to uplifting trans people, having made a Laverne Cox barbie doll in 2022.
However, the episode quietly introduced some LGBTQ+ representation as well: Bluey's friend, a chihuahua named Pretzel, opened up about his pet guinea pig running away and casually mentioned having two moms. “My mums told me he might come back, but he didn't,” Pretzel said.
Ken feels lost without Barbie and feels that she was his only purpose in life, he was specifically created for Barbie. Ken wants Barbie to exist the same way he did, to have no power of any kind, and only be made for one person.
The actors explain why it didn't happen. Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling say their characters don't kiss in "Barbie" because it wouldn't have made sense logistically. The Ken actor said in a recent joint interview with the Barbie actor that kissing was in the initial plans, but didn't make the final cut.
In the film's final scene, after deciding to leave Barbieland for the real world, Barbie enthusiastically tells a receptionist, “I'm here to see my gynecologist,” a joke that could be based either on her supposed lack of genitals or her evident excitement for care many women find unpleasant.
Yes, Barbie has never got married or had children - something that was apparently a very deliberate choice, with Ruth Handler not wanting young girls to aspire only to marriage and motherhood.
He resents being called a "girl's toy", as a human male might have with their masculinity being put into question. He also rather dislikes attention being drawn to the fact that he's essentially an accessory to Barbie.
An array of diverse actresses, including trans actress Hari Nef, play Barbie doll characters. While the movie does not dive into transgender identity, Barbie still manages to touch upon LGBTQ+ issues without naming them as such.
Actually, the scene that was almost deleted is the one in which Margot Robbie sits at a bus stop in the real world, bursting into tears overcome by her circumstances, and then sees an old woman next to her. Barbie says that she is beautiful and the old lady replies: “I know.”
While Barbie never explicitly claims an asexual identity, she also never shows any sexual desire, not even for Ken.
If you hear him talk about how his collection started, it doesn't seem so strange. Turns out he used to play Barbie dolls with his daughter. It's how he developed some of the roles he played, by using different voices for each of the Barbies.
What is Barbie's full name? Barbie's full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts. The doll is named after Handler's daughter Barbara, who was the inspiration behind Barbie's creation.
The original Barbie #1, which was produced in 1959 and sold for just $3, ranked top with a maximum resale value of $27,450. Ruth Handler, who was part-owner of the toy company Mattel that produces these dolls, was the brains behind the first model.
He is a main character in the Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse series. Ryan has a crush on Barbie, and therefore competes with Ken for her affection.
Fans had no way of knowing that Barbie had an even more adult side: She was closely related to a German novelty toy. Barbie had a sister—Bild-Lilli, a racy doll marketed to men.
Ruth Handler left Mattel in 1975 after she and her husband were forced out due to an investigation into false financial reporting, stemming from the company hiding losses by inflating sales figures, leading to fraud charges and a subsequent conviction for Handler, though she blamed her 1970 breast cancer diagnosis for being unfocused.