The Sex Addict Who Engineered Barbie
Would you let Playboy create toys for your children? In the book Toy Monster, Jerry Oppenheimer reveals the “Hefner-esque” playboy lifestyle of the sex addict who engineered Barbie.
Years before Barbie debuted at the 1959 International Toy Fair, Mattel co-founder Ruth Handler came across a German sex doll named “Bild Lilli”. This pint-sized vamp was sold as a sexually suggestive gift for adults. Handler, however, saw a clear way that Mattel could market a similar doll in America to children.
Sex Toy "Bild Lilli", c.1950
First Barbie Doll, 1959
Jack Ryan was hired as Barbie’s engineer. Toning down the German doll’s risqué image to be more suitable for children was not on Ryan’s agenda. To the contrary, he often boasted how this new doll was his ideal sexual fantasy, and all other women should start taking notes. With her cups overflowing atop a rail thin waistline, an American icon was born.
Before long, Ryan began his personal quest to turn every woman he slept with into a walking, breathing, life-sized doll. This meant forcing rigorous exercise regimes and plastic surgery upon his many wives and mistresses. He fed his daughters diet pills, repeated the mantra “be as thin as you can be,” and when a wife grew too old or gained weight, he divorced her. Such was the case with his third wife, who stopped eating completely in an effort to win him back, but died shortly thereafter from an anorexia-induced heart attack.
Jack Ryan with fourth wife Zsa Zsa Gabor, 1975
And If Barbie Was Real? She’d be 7′2″ and weigh 101 pounds. Most of that weight would reside in her bra, because it’s an FF cup. Her waist would be the same circumference as her head, and those tiny size 5 feet would never let her stand up straight – she’d have to walk on all fours. Her body would have room for only half of a liver and a few inches of intestines, resulting in chronic diarrhea and death from malabsorption and malnutrition. Sexy.
Clinically diagnosed with hypersexuality (now known as sex addiction), Ryan often likened himself to Hugh Hefner. He threw lavish sex parties at the House of Barbie Mansion in Bel Air, inviting hundreds of A-listers from across the country. Above the doorway at these parties stood a giant phallus-shaped dial, so Ryan could rate a woman from 1 to 10 the moment she walked in the door. He was always on the lookout for new sex partners, kept multiple mistresses at a time, and made little effort to hide infidelity.
These sex parties also served as a way to keep tabs on potential future mistresses. Ryan’s secretaries kept a massive database of every woman he knew, monitoring their physical attributes, sexual escapades and contact information. That way, when a craving hit him, he could easily pick a girl at random to call.
All the while, his passion persisted of finding new ways to modify and market his beloved doll. Stephen Gnass, a close friend of Ryan, remembers some uncomfortable board-room conversations. “When [Ryan] talked about Barbie, it was like listening to someone talk about a sexual episode… like listening to a sexual pervert creating this doll.” (Oppenheimer,9)
Twist N Turn Barbie was born because Ryan reportedly wanted her to fit easily into any sexual position. Talking Barbie grew from what was supposed to be another one-night-stand, but he liked this particular girl’s voice and decided it was time for Barbie to speak. After nine years of doe-eyed silence, Barbie’s first words were “I love being a fashion model… Want to go shopping?”
The Real Ken
The real Ken was a closeted gay man with AIDS. Both Barbie and Ken were named after the children of Mattel founders Ruth & Elliott Handler. Young Barbara was pleased with having her own doll, but Ken Handler was mortified and suffered years of abuse from his peers, especially because his doll lacked genitalia. As Mattel’s franchise skyrocketed, Ken kept a low profile, got married and fathered three children. It was only when he got diagnosed with AIDS in 1990, however, that he came out of the closet.
In 2007, a controversial Scottish ad campaign used the Ken doll to promote AIDS awareness. (See EQUAL Ad 1 & Ad 2 Here) The company, EQUAL, released no statement about whether these are specific references to the life of Ken Handler, or if it’s merely coincidental.
Jack Ryan died in 1991, but his attitude toward women cemented itself in the framework of the multi-billion dollar industry that Barbie has become. People continue to have mixed reactions. For every lawmaker proposing a Barbie ban, there are thousands of Barbie-lovers flocking to see her Fashion Week 50th anniversary tribute collection in New York. The American tradition of giving girls glorified sex dolls seems to be here to stay.
Sources:
“Toy Monster: The Big Bad World of Mattel”. Oppenheimer, 2009; Wiley & Sons Publishing (pp. 1-21, 56-61)
Most of this can be very true for some girls but on the other hand, my 3 year old daughter is in love with barbie and she has absolutely no idea what a cup size is or anything like that. She likes the fact that its a mini-her that she can make mock things that she does. Maybe instead of banning barbies they should just change their figure to have more variety in size and shape, other than just pregnant barbie. I grew up on barbies and I don’t think I ever once looked at my barbie and said that I was jealous of her, usually it was the girls at school getting the boys that make you more jealous than a doll.
My future daughter will not have a barbie!
When I was younger I hated Barbies. My sister loved them and I would pull the heads off her barbies. I guess I’ve always be a little weird.
All in all, I thought that both blogs were intriguing and informative. I agree with most of the points, but at the same time, almost anything made for kids could be construed negatively. This presents the question of, what DOES make an appropriate doll? I recently heard of young girls being upset that their heads were not over-sized like Bratz dolls. I personally was quite the tomboy, but was somewhat fond of American Girl dolls. They were accompanied by stories that reflected what it was like to grow up in various time periods, and they appeared as young girls. Of course, it could be argued that the African-American slave girl or the blond pioneer girl or the rich Victorian girl were stereotypical, but almost anything can be taken that way. Perhaps it is even wrong that an obese girl wasn’t represented, though some would argue that that implies that obesity, which often correlates with health issues, is acceptable. There are many gray areas. What resonated most for me was the history of Barbie and the man behind it. Those facts make Barbie seem almost undeniably unsuitable for children. The Oreo Barbie was also definitely extreme. I also agree that Barbie’s proportions should be different, but to account for every possible body type or anything like that would be far-reaching. Overall, many valid points were made, and it did instill within me some contempt for Mattel Barbie.
Great report! Fascinating stuff.
I have noticed that at least recently, the shape of Barbie has been changed. Her breast size in particular is much smaller. Though they claim the message is different, it still persists. I was looking for dolls for my niece last summer and attempted to find one that sent a message that it was okay to be a professional in a non-traditional female role. The closest I cam was a doctor Barbie. The problem with that is that the only female dolls that were doctors were called “Baby Doctor Barbie”. Even that would be fine if they had one that was maybe a general M.D. or surgeon of some type. No, they still enforce stereotypes with the types of messages they send with the dolls. Things like women are always associated with motherhood and/or being a good wife, etc.