CHICAGO (WLS) -- "Barbie," the new movie about the classic doll and her boyfriend Ken, is now in theaters. While the iconic duo may seem like the perfect couple, their relationship isn't the best model for finding love in the real world.
Apparently, Barbie will never get married. According to the wishes of Barbie creator Ruth Handler, part of Barbie's appeal to young children was that she defied patriarchal norms, and would never walk down the aisle toward Ken or have children. I'm sorry to say, Ruth, but that wasn't how we played it.
After more than forty years of dating, the duo consciously uncoupled. “Like other celebrity couples, their Hollywood romance has come to an end,” Russell Arons, then vice president of marketing at Mattel, said in a 2004 statement.
‘An assault on not just Ken but all men’: Piers Morgan slams Barbie
Does Barbie have a girlfriend?
While some on social are wondering how Barbie snagged a girlfriend before them, or when exactly she came out, Aimee Song weighed in to make the relationship Twitter-official.
And while the two are boyfriend and girlfriend in the movie, Barbie doesn't seem to feel the same way for Ken as he does for her. Warner Bros. This could be explained by the fact that Barbie and Ken are dolls, and they don't really have a "sexual" attraction to each other.
Ken and Barbie were never officially engaged or married. I'm not sure if it was a matter of feminist influence, but I'm more certain it was to encourage creativity in play.
Although the doll was part of a 'Happy Family' line of dolls, there was backlash at the time for endorsing 'teenage pregnancy', so the road towards endorsing a liberating world through Barbie dolls has admittedly not always been smooth. Regardless, for Ruth the idea was to keep Barbie single and child free.
CNN: Why might it be important that “Barbie” culminated in a gynecologist appointment? Wen: Having everyone see Barbie go to the gynecologist normalizes the experience. It solidifies the understanding that reproductive health is an integral part of overall health.
“Pregnant Barbie” is actually Margaret Hadley Sherwood, or Midge, as her friends call her. Midge was created to be a less glam, more relatable Barbie, per Buzzfeed News. The doll was launched in 1963 as Barbie's bestie. She had freckles and red hair, and she wore less makeup than Barbie did.
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.
Like you ever thought about Ken before this?” Which Ken is Ryan Gosling supposed to be in 'Barbie'? Technically, Ken has no official age (he is a doll, after all) although he was first introduced as Barbie's boyfriend on March 11, 1961, which means he has been around for 62 years.
Kenneth Sean "Ken" Carson (1961–1967, 1969–present): Barbie's male counterpart and former boyfriend as well as the second character added to the line. Mattel announced a split between him and Barbie in 2004 and a reunion on Valentine's Day in 2011.
By the end of the movie, Barbie and Ken have to have a serious conversation about their relationship. Barbie makes it clear she's not interested in Ken romantically and urges him to find his own personal passions.
Before Barbie came out, Robbie explained to Vogue that she played Barbie as if she didn't feel sexual desire, which also may have contributed to her lack of feelings for Ken. “I'm like, Okay, she's a doll. She's a plastic doll. She doesn't have organs.
One of the characters in the movie is a pregnant Midge, who is played by Emerald Fennell and is based on a real doll. The controversial pregnant Midge doll was released by Mattel in 2002 and caused outrage among parents who believed it promoted teen pregnancy.
While the film does not dive into trans identity, Barbie still manages to touch upon LGBTQ+ issues without naming them as such. In fact, the film features several openly LGBTQ+ actors, like Hari Nef, Kate McKinnon, Alexandra Shipp, and Scott Evans.
1961: First introduced at the American International Toy Fair as Barbie doll's boyfriend on March 11, 1961 Ken doll was 12 inches tall, had “molded” plastic hair (blond and brunette) and came dressed in red bathing suit trunks with a yellow towel and sandals.
Barbie and Ken are one of pop culture's most famous couples. But the plastic dolls were named after real people, and they weren't a couple – they were siblings. Ruth Handler's children resented the dolls named after them and didn't buy any for their own children.
Barbie's full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts. Barbie was named after Ruth Handler's daughter, Barbara, and Ken after her son, Kenneth. She is from (fictional) Willows, Wisconsin, where she attended high school.
The movie showed her they were "just not on the same wavelength" when it came to their views on gender, she said. "Barbie has helped me graduate out of a cycle of overextending myself into spaces or around people I don't truly resonate with, to get myself back to discovering what I want out of life," she said.
Ken® doll's official birthday is March 11, 1961 – making Ken® 2 days and 2 years younger than Barbie®. Starting out with nine outfits, a skinny frame and fuzzy crew cut, he's always stood by Barbie.
