The Barbie Movie Has a Cameo From This Iconic Gay, Discontinued Ken Doll

Earring Magic Ken — who was a real toy created by Mattel as a part of the Earring Magic Barbie line in 1993 — comes dressed in a lavender mesh shirt, purple pleather vest, an earring in his left ear, and what appears to be a cock ring necklace.

When he was released, he became an instant favorite among gay men and other LGBTQ+ Barbie collectors. Dan Savage even wrote a now-famous article in The Chicago Reader called “Ken Comes Out” when the doll was introduced.

In the article, Savage notes that at the time, pendants featuring chrome cock rings were “de rigueur rave wear” and that “for about a year, every gay boy at a rave was wearing at least one.” He theorized that Mattel’s design team must have “spent a weekend in LA or New York dashing from rave to rave, taking notes and Polaroids.”

Earring Magic Ken appears in the movie with another iconic gay Ken, Sugar Daddy Ken (created in 2009, his name supposedly refers to Sugar, the name of the toy dog that comes with it) in a scene where we meet some discontinued Barbies and Kens.

The two even appear standing together, prompting us to ask if Sugar’s Daddy is also Earring Magic Ken’s Daddy!

Earring Magic Ken is played by Tom Stourton and Sugar Daddy Ken is played by British comedian Rob Brydon.

See Earring Magic Ken in all of his glory in Greta Gerwig's Barbie, which is now playing in theaters.