Men for Ken

Toys for the boys. Ken has been languishing in the shadows for too long, male doll collectors talk about this perennial little charmer.

Photography by Ernesto Padró-Campos

Many male collectors have a complicated relationship with their dolls. In fact even some women are embarrassed about admitting to collecting dolls as a grown adult, perhaps being accused of arrested development by those who don’t know better! But at least they are playing with something that is conventionally a girls’ toy, so the potential for embarrassment is exponentially increased for men. This is why doll collector groups and conventions are so important for male collectors – we don’t feel like we’re the only one with this hobby (obsession, even), and it’s great to share doll experiences with other men.

Boys raised in the 60s and 70s who expressed an interest in dolls, but were forbidden them, were sometimes permitted to play with boy dolls like Ken, as these might have been seen by parents as being less ‘girly’, and more suitable for boys. Weird logic, but that’s how it went… so for many men the first doll they could call their own was actually Ken, that all-American icon.

Some fellow male collectors share their thoughts reminiscences of Mr Ken Carson, his clothes and his accessories … and how this doll, who is often cast as a foil to his glamorous companion, was part of their formative years

RICHARD YEP
My first experience was not so much with Ken, but with his wardrobe. A cousin of mine had several Mattel dolls, and though I can’t even remember the dolls, I do recall the great two-toned Ken shoes. I stared at them with fascination and asked my mom if I could have a Ken outfit for Christmas. To my great surprise she said yes, and we went to Woolworth’s in downtown San Francisco. Imagine my excitement when I got to see my first boxed Ken outfit, Dreamboat, and the nice clerk let me hold the item. But how crestfallen I was when I saw the price tag, $3.50, which back then could feed my entire family for lunch at a dim sum house. I couldn’t make my mom spend that much money on a toy, (especially since I didn’t even have a Ken), and put the item back. I think this was in 1966-67.

I do think I had Allan earlier, when I was about 4 or 5, but it was an item that didn’t even last past Christmas – at that age, all of my toys were destroyed by the month after the holidays! I had younger siblings too, and we were rough with our playthings.

I like Ken mostly up to the era of the Good Looking Ken and the first Malibu. But the more modern rooted haired Kens and My Scene Ken, as well as the other boys with the flocked hair are fun to play with also. Now why didn’t they make a Good Looking Allan too?

Ken outfits have not been the same since the late 1960s, my favorite era for the boy outfits – Holiday, Rovin Reporter, College Student, Hiking Holiday, the first ski outfit, and all of the tuxes from 1961-67.

You only need one Ken per 10 Barbies, if even that many. The problem is the evening wear – there are only so many formal outfits that were made for him, while Barbie got many new gowns each year.

I have two stock Kens and an Allan that I use as escorts for Barbie and other fashion dolls. One of the Kens is a rooted hair model from the 1980s. Around Barbie, alas, he’s just arm candy. But around other guy dolls, hes more his own character. The My Scene boys pair up rather well with the vintage Ken and Allans, and they make great couples. Vintage Barbie and Midge sometimes look too mature for the vintage boys…

I wish I could find more OOAK artists outfits for Ken: a nice silk Sulka smoking jacket and lounging pajamas; more nehru jackets; a good cowboy outfit; more fantasy sets; all that effort almost always goes towards Barbie.

GREG KEECH
I wasn’t terribly interested in the ‘60s versions of Ken, or Barbie either. I gravitated toward the supporting characters – Midge and Skipper. I remember particularly liking to play with Skipper; now I wonder if it was because she was a kid, like me. But even at that age, the Dream House and setting the scene were the attraction – not the fashions. My interest in Ken came much later. I gave a roommate a 35th Anniversary re-make Barbie for his birthday one time… and then realized I wanted to play too.

The first doll I bought for myself was some jewel-eyed thing that wasn’t even a Barbie (I don’t think), but who nevertheless became the Alpha of the whole lot, and I ended up with 76 of them. I would say at least two thirds of them were “Kens.” That is, male. I had several versions of Ken, of course, but also several Alans and a rooted hair Steven. I actually found them more attractive than Ken – except for Earring Magic Ken, of course.

I also discovered the French doll, Paul, just in time to grab him off the shelves of Paris department stores before they stopped making him. And I can’t remember the girl doll counterpart’s name now… oh, Cindy (such a French name, n’est-ce pas?). And then even a French action figure (called simply Action Man, if I remember), who had a gun molded onto his arm – I made a very neat job of cutting and melting the offending plastic monstrosity right off him and then bandaged it up and said he had been injured in the war.

My “Kens” were an integral part of various doll scenarios. There was a Medieval room, with minstrels and Neapolitan miniature food and glassware on a trestle table; a Thai room, with all kinds of Asian props, including things from Chatuchak Market in Bangkok; and, the pièce de résistance, a Martiniquais restaurant and bar with the jewel-eyed alpha doll as Erzulie, the loa [spirit] of sex and death. There was a band, with Paul as the leader, a balcony fashioned from twisted wire and cardboard, and neo-classical backgrounds cut from poster board and mounted on old wine cartons. Michael Jackson and Hammer were there to sing, and Erzuli was center stage, of course.

Since they lived in Martinique, I had a great time giving them all reduplicative French names: Mimi, Tintin, Dédé… There is something telling about this, but I’m not quite sure what it is. With so many dolls, I suppose it was a way to distinguish them in a very basic, almost mechanistic way. It also may indicate nascent but not quite realized personalities – quite different from the way my BJDs have acquired distinct characteristics without me even trying. With only seven BJDs, and in the course of various meetups, outdoor photoshoots, and theme parties, personalities have emerged for most of them. With the “Kens,” other than Erzulie, I think each one had only just acquired an identity, and had not yet formed a personality.

When I moved to a smaller place five years ago, Barbie-world was relegated to the storage room – I haven’t even looked at it, much less gotten it out or set it up, since then. I can just imagine the mold and mouse nibbles!

BARIS
My first doll was a Ken, well it was officially Blaine – Generation Girl Dance Party Blaine to be exact! I went to Big Lots with a friend shopping for cheap furniture for her new apartment, and saw him on the shelf, he was sooo dreamy…

I used to play “designer” with my sisters dolls, but never had a Barbie of my own before, so he ended up coming home with me. I even tried resisting deboxing him for a day or so, he was so cool with his DJ set and all, but of course I couldn’t do it. It wasn’t long before he got a boyfriend, and another BF and more BFs and BFFs, which led me to Tonners, FR and all the way to BJDs eventually. Now they’ve completely taken over my closet!!!

My favorite guise is a tie between the Waltz Ken and Tango Ken, although I do very much like the new AA basics jeans Ken as well. I have quite a few boys actually, and would like to have more if more selections were available. Mine don’t really hang out with the girls unless it’s for a fashion photo shoot.

I was very happy to see all the jointing on the latest Harley Ken, more Kens with similar bodies please!

ERNESTO PADRÓ-CAMPOS
I had flocked hair Ken as a child. I was five or six. Later, I got Mod and Malibu. Today, I love to find those perfectly intact first issue dolls with perfect hair.

The first sculpt is really fantastic: M.G. Lord in “Forever, Barbie” quotes Susan Sontag’s concept of the androgynous vacancy behind the perfect beauty of Greta Garbo and compares it to Ken’s first sculpt. I like both vintage and modern, the new Barbie Basics models are great.

My favorite outfits are Tuxedo and Saturday Night Date.

Allan rocks too. His nose is great and what about that shock of hair on his forehead? I think Mattel meant for Allan and Midge to be African American and then chickened out.

Ken is his own man! He’s a gentleman who allows the lady, Miss B, to bask in the warm glow of the spotlight.

FRANKLIN LIM-LIAO
I always liked vintage Allan better than Ken because he had a more realistic and cuter face mold than Ken, less dorky, like the boy next door.

My favorite outfit is Ken A Go Go. What’s not to like? A wig, a microphone and a ukulele for a future karaoke king in the making… 35 years later that’s one childhood fantasy I’ve relived!

JEFF DOUNG
I collect vintage Ken and Allan dolls and prefer vintage Ken over the modern versions. I have most of Ken’s original outfits, my favorite ones are the matching Barbie and Ken outfits. I prefer the molded head Ken over the flocked hair version. My favorite Ken dolls are my high-color bendable leg dolls with lots of cheek blush.

TONY KEE
[In my family] boys were not allowed to play with Barbies but I got away with a Ken. My first was a Malibu Ken but what I really wanted was a mod Ken. I forget the name of my favorite outfit but it had to be a mod!

Mod Ken is the Ken that I knew when I was a kid, but Allan is better looking. I don’t have a lot of Kens. As a matter of fact there are not a lot of collectible Kens out there. But the Ken on my wishing list is Pop Life Ken. He’s a character in his own right.

TOM MAFFEI
One birthday my father took my sister to Toys “R” Us. She picked out a twist‘n’turn P.J. My experience with Ken was as a pacifier. I really wanted a Barbie, but as a compromise I got a New Good Looking Ken.

My mom made clothes for him that matched the ones she sewed for Barbie. When I started collecting Barbies, I would buy a Ken to “pair” with a Barbie. When I started to thin down my collection, Ken was the first to go. I still have about 25. Most are from the mod era!

GRANT SALMINEN
My first experience in the early 60s was with my girl cousin’s Ken doll. They were neighbors so we could play on Saturdays. I liked the zipper fly on his pants but was disappointed with the small bump underneath!

I like the vintage doll best, [although] the detailing of some of the new outfits are quite good. I customize the new Kens – change body parts, and changing heads is pretty easy. I like the articulated bodies the best right now, some of the rooted hair Kens can have great mohawks. I have even re-rooted a few to have long hair.

Ken or Allan? I like them both!

Credits
All photography by Ernesto Padró-Campos
www.dolldom.blogspot.com