Ken

The Ken doll was introduced in 1961 as a boyfriend for the then-two-year-old Barbie doll. This was a natural development, as the Barbie doll itself seemed to be created to act out girls' fantasies of being grown up, and a boyfriend was needed to complete the fantasy. The original Ken doll was 12 inches tall and had flocked hair.

Like Barbie, Ken has a fashionable line of clothing and accessories. In the Barbie mythology, Ken and Barbie met on the set of a TV commercial the same year the doll was introduced.

Just as Barbie was named after creator Ruth Handler's daughter, so was Ken named after her son. Although Ken was not the first male doll in history, he remains the most popular. Before Ken there was Buddy Lee in the late 1920's all the way through to the 60s'. Though popular at the time, Buddy Lee was not originally intended as a toy and did not survive the trials of time as Ken has. Immediately before Ken, another male doll, Jeff, was introduced to the public but did not appeal to children and was soon retired from the market.

From 1961 to the debut of Superstar Ken in 1977, the doll featured straight arms and a head that could only turn left and right. For the first year of his existence, the Ken doll had felt hair; but, as the hair was prone to falling off once it was wet, Mattel soon introduced the molded-on plastic haircut for Ken. Superstar Ken featured a dimpled smile, a head that could swivel, bent arms, a more muscular physique, and jewelry. He also had underwear permanently molded to his body.

In 1993 a version of the doll was released called 'Earring Magic Ken'. The style of the doll was said to resemble popular fashions among some segments of the gay community at the time, which caused the doll to attain a cult following. The character of Ken has held at least 40 occupations, from Olympic gold medalist to hair stylist.

A male pal for Ken, Allan Sherwood, was introduced in 1964. He is not to be confused with Alan, who was introduced in 1990 and married Barbie's friend, Midge. The first African-American male doll of the Barbie line was introduced in 1981, in contrast to Barbie's African-American friend, Christie, who was introduced in 1968.