He was the editor of the now-defunct Christopher Street magazine, which was a legendary gay men’s magazine. The story was ultimately published by Michael Denneny, who just recently passed away. When we sent the story to magazines, the editors were afraid to publish it as Mattel was notoriously litigious and protective of Barbie. When the story was workshopped in Hilma Wolitzer’s class at NYU, the students thought the story was “psychotic” and that it was impossible to date Barbie “because she didn’t have a vagina.” That comment took me by surprise then and still does-a bit too literal. In 1986, I wrote “A Real Doll,” a story about an adolescent boy who develops an intense psycho-sexual relationship with his sister’s Barbie. Not only was he in charge of Barbie’s wardrobe, he actually made a one-off AM Homes Barbie, who came with a desk, jeans, a white shirt, and a black sweater. I got one-there would never be more than one until years later when my junior high friend, Jim, got a job at Mattel. My parents were from the school of “here’s some plain paper and a pen to draw your own world.” I ultimately told my mother that I couldn’t go to my friend Suzy’s house without a Barbie and she took me to the toy store. What you might not know is that long ago, in the mid-1980s, I wrote the following short story, which became rather infamous, “A Real Doll.”Īs a kid, I wasn’t allowed to have a Barbie because my mother thought it was inappropriate, given Barbie’s extreme sexualized appearance. For more about “A Real Doll” and Barbie’s legacy, read AM Homes’ conversation with MG Lord, author of Forever Barbie.Īs you likely know, Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach have co-written the new Barbie film-directed by Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. Please enjoy this special bonus issue of Recommended Reading.
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