Barbie's creator wanted Ken to have more of a 'bulge' — but Mattel refused to give the doll a prominent crotch

Dec 29 2022 by Business Insider

 
Ken dolls over the years.

Matthias Schrader/AP; Mattel, Inc.

Barbie creator Ruth Handler wanted the Ken doll to have a "bulge," she wrote in her autobiography. But Mattel's "all-male" teams refused and gave him a crotch "as smooth as Barbie's," she said. Designs included painted-on underwear were also considered for the doll, first released in 1961.

Ken would have had much more of a "bulge" if Barbie's creator got her way.

Ruth Handler, who introduced the plastic doll to the world in 1959,...

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