Two weeks ago Riese changed our lives for the better by introducing us to #LesbianKen – 75 Lesbian Ken Dolls, to be exact. As we examined the list together we recognized our exes, our current partners, and our selves in these dolls. We laughed, we grimaced, we tagged our friends who most reminded us of Lesbian Ken #18.
But then things got extra magical: We asked y’all to send us photos of yourselves dressed as your Best Ken Self, and oh my gosh did you ever deliver.
So here it is! A community photo gallery showcasing the best meme to ever grace our computer screens. In total we have more than 150 photos of queers dressed as Ken (and a few Barbies!). I now know that almost every one of you has the capacity to be Preppy Check Ken and also that a surprising number of you actually own a cactus t-shirt. What a world, what a world!
I hope viewing this gallery brings you as much joy as it has brought me to make it. Bless #KenOfCenter, forever and ever amen.
Note: If you missed our original call for submissions for this gallery but would like to be featured amongst the many and varied Kens, I’ll accept additional submissions throughout the month of July 2017. Email vanessa [at] autostraddle [dot] com with your Ken photo (please include an image of the doll you are mimicking) and your name, age, job, and location to be included in the gallery. Thanks!
Yas / 20 / Editor at Powered By Girl / London, UK
Vicky / 27 / Marketing / Madrid, Spain
Traci / 24 / works with young children with autism / Lexington, KY
Lena / 25 / Racial justice educator / Columbus, OH
Taylor / 31 / Writer at TechCrunch / Portland, OR
Stephanie / 25 / Teacher / Oakland, CA
Stephanie / 24 / AmeriCorps VISTA; graduate student at the University of Louisville / Louisville, KY
Stacy / 35 / Director of Student Programs & Leadership, Boston University / Jamaica Plain, MA
Speegz / 23 / Law student / Los Angeles, CA
Sophie / 22 / Computer science camp instructor; transcriptionist / Rhode Island
Shannon / 39 / works at a rehab facility for folks with acquired brain injury / North Hollywood, CA
Sara / 30 / PhD student
Salome / 25 / Amateur merperson / Tampa, FL
Rygon / 29 / Hustler clown / Wandering
Robin / 32 / Teacher / Boston, MA
Reneice / 28 / Autostraddle Staff Writer / Los Angeles, CA
Renata / 25 / Data scientist / Cincinnati, OH
Rebecca / 19 / Student / Toronto, ON
Ray / 34 / Philosophy professor and amateur poet / Palo Alto, CA
Rae / 29 / Teacher / Jersey City, NJ
Rachel / 27 / PhD Student in Chemistry / Tel Aviv, Israel
Rachel / 27 / Salt Lake City, UT
Comments
i
am
over
whelmed
I Ken not even.
I don’t know if I’m more impressed by the attention to detail of those who intentionally dressed up, or the ones who are just obviously wearing their own outfits that happen to look exactly like the doll.
I feel that I should Skipper this comment because of the pun. Although it may be that I’m a (s)Midge jealous of it. Maybe we should hang out. Come over and I’ll throw another shrimp on the Barbie.
Aw, thanks! In return I’ll get dolled up and invite you Tutti.
A coworker looked over my shoulder while I was scrolling through this and now she won’t stop cackling
This is why I love this place.
Can someone run some analysis on this? I feel like the gingham and jungle/pineapple(!) shirts, and
khaki bottoms are statically significant.?
Also those Barbies are giving me life.
*statistically
i would strongly support it if someone wanted to do this very important research just saying
There’s so many friends on this list and I can’t tag them all and so I’m just gonna say a giant collective: YA NAILED IT
Autostraddle is the best fucking place on earth.
DITTO
Ooh, baby do you know what that’s worth?
forever and ever a-Ken
Queer Ken has given me more joy than all of the rest of 2017 combined.
hard same
You guys. This is the best thing ever. My heart feels so warmed and so totally gay.
i am never leaving this page.
This. is. beautiful.
Gorgeous humans abound!
fancy meeting you here
‘Ken of all trades’ ?
everyone is so beautiful and i think this gave me a heart problem because i keep clutching my chest
Rebecca from Toronto, I love your Arkells shirt! This gallery is so wonderful.
I actually couldn’t tell at first which was the person and which was the ken on a few of these!
You are all stars
You are all amazing. So good. Bookmarking for future happiness bringing.
I am gonna devour this one page at a time over a week prob so I can truly appreciate it without my mind crumbling into pieces but BUT BUT BUT Rachel from Salt Lake bottom of page 1 has me dying absolutely dying it is just unbelievable and uncanny! Babes!
Oh hi, thank you!
I hope Mattel offers a job to Rachel from Salt Lake City
Hi! Yes, me too.
I just yelled and cried “THIS IS SO GOOD” for 20 minutes. Thank you for this joy.
the outfits are amazing but THE POSES ARE SO FUNNY OMG
Next time someone asks me “why” I’m gay I’m going to show them this post.
Laureline from Paris is PERFECT
ISN’T SHE?? So glad someone said it before I did because she’s my girlfriend and I wouldn’t want anyone to think I was biased BUT SHE REALLY IS PERFECT :-)
this is so cute <3
I hope you 2 are very happy together. Ideally in a Barbie DreamHouse
Thanks! tee-hee
OH MY ACTUAL GODDESS *weeping*
YOU TWO!
Ken and Barbie OMG
What a fantastic article to wake up to! There were so many whose names I wanted to remember so I could squee about them in the comments but there were TOO MANY. Amazing, all of you! ❤️?
You’re looking very Ken #18 today!
i love the doll arms and hands poses!
Good effort by Cameron Esposito but Cee wins as the perfect Gianfranco Ken
aww thanks ?
The Carmen SanDiego Award for Best Ken 2017 is yours!
This is somehow everything I wanted and everything I didn’t know I needed in one.
I can’t breathe, this is all I’ve ever wanted.
SO MANY AMAZING LOOKS! I have to give just a couple of shout-outs, but dang, you’re all so good ❤️
Reneice (Los Angeles): you *completely* nailed it. I am in awe.
Priscila (Toronto): your Camp Ken look is pure joy! Nice touch with the accessories and A-Camp shirt ?
Laureline (Paris): Your poodle skirt Barbie look is simple perfection.
Kipper (Portland): Those action shots! Forced perspective FTW. You’re moving more freely than ever and I love it.
To all the “In-Line Skating Ken” people: you are my heroes today. Go forth and skate your hearts out!
Archie (Minneapolis): !!! GOLD PURE GOLD.
Also: a special WOW to everyone who submitted multiple photos. I swoon to your creativity and commitment.
You are the sweetest!!
I love the comprehensive nature of these compliments :-D
Thank you ?
You forgot to mention Rachel 27 SLC, whose whole wonderful wardrobe seems to have been inspired by ken dolls of yore.
I’m gonna go ahead and call it: next year’s A-Camp dance theme.
This is everything I’ve ever wanted and I’m so glad you’re still accepting submissions, because I forgot to do mine. #KenofCenter is my new aesthetic/gender identity.
(Also, I’m 100% going to be in-line skating Ken and I feel an immediate kinship/Kenship with everyone else who did that one.)
‘Kenship’ :’)
“Kenship” omgeeeee
Rachel and I look like we could be related…(Lexi on Page 3)
WE ARE ALL FAMILY! (but yes, yes you do!) <3
This is magical. Nora, get out of here with those pants.
Sophie’s killed me XD
I LOVE THIS SO MUCH!!
This is probably the most important thing on the internet.
And I say this as someone who often googles “soft boil egg cooking time”
Chloe, you need one of these: https://www.amazon.com/Norpro-Egg-Perfect-Timer/dp/B00004UE75
It changed my life!
lol i love how everyone has the same plaid button-up <3
WE ARE ALL PREPPY CHECK KEN ;)
Kind of relieved that Totally Hair Ken didn’t show up; I don’t think that clothing in those colors has existed since 1992, if even then.
Also, I believe that the doll with the Moschino sweatshirt is actually Cora Harper from Mass Effect: Andromeda.
Haha! Totally Hair Ken is 100% of my actual wardrobe, true story
@%^@$&@$^&$%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Danie actually has the doll, y’all!
This post is everything I ever thought about ever. I’m so happy this exists
Also pretty sure the LGBTQAI+ community single-handedly keeps the plaid industry in business (*thinks about the 6 plaid shirts I have in my closet*)
Can we please make “you’re looking very Ken today” the new “you’re looking very Shane today”?
Everyone looks so good. Kip really delivered!!
…and then I realized that I’d missed several pages of Kens (including Cameron! Esposito!) in the first go-round. My mind: officially blown.
Danie with the doll was the height of surrealism. Loved it. Extra points for creativity and visual impact.
I was also very impressed with Cameron Esposito’s dedication and also facial expressions.
And then there were the Barbies!
These are all wonderful but Gemma from Australia the actual dolphin trainer lololol for me, you won.
Same!
SAME!! I was like “we could all go home now, we have a winner!” LMAO good on yah, Gemma! I’m curious – what part of ‘Straya are you from? :)
This is the best thing I have ever been a part of. BRB, updating my resume to just say “included in Lesbian Ken Gallery 2017”.
I was thinking the same thing. I’m ridiculously proud of my contribution to this!
It’s a really cool idea I just wish I saw more diverse skin tones. It was overwhelmingly white and light skinned, which a few exceptions.
Pretty sure Gemma wins this for being a literal, actual Dolphin trainer. Now THAT is commitment.
Now to explain to my co-workers why I’ve been smiling for the last 20 minutes…
This is literally the best thing ever. <3 all of you
For whichever of you tech geniuses decides to turn this into a dating app, I have a few name suggestions.
Plenty of Kens
Ken Connection
or my personal fav…
Qen
Love this so much, you’re all awesome and hilarious and hot <3 (Hi derby people!)
omg how is everyone so accurate ??
(also Melia, interested in marriage now that it’s also legal in Germany?? oh my!)
lol I FINALLY made an account here so I can reply to this but hey! :)
It’s beyond my ken how some of you ken look so similar – it’s unKENny!
These are so lovely! Also I love how kid friendly it is as my 4 and 5 year old girls are enjoying the pictures, too!
SWOON.
How! How!!! How is everyone so perfect!!!!
I am in awe of you.
Also, spending a whole morning picking discussing Kens, picking outfits, and doing a whole photo shoot was some of the most fun I’ve had in a while. I never played with dolls as a kid but I could def get into some more queer Ken and Barbie dress up.
Shout out to Kipper for being ridiculously photogenic you should see the rest of the photos on my phone, it’s a trip.
Also also, it feels really on brand that I was able to feature my actual flip phone that I use on the daily in my Cool Lookin Ken lewk. Also I now indentify as #coollookinofcenter
Also, seeing how many straddlers are based in Portland, I’m going to need four or five of you to start an all-Ken boi band with me when I move there in September.
All-Ken boi band is the best idea ever
Oh hey that human kinda looks like someone I went to college wit-OH SH*T IT IS SOMEONE I WENT TO COLLEGE WITH. The tiny liberal arts college/Autostraddle crossover is kinda amazing.
Amazing looks guys! Very impressive.
This is why I love you all so much <3 Was having the day from hell, but now can't stop smiling. We are all amazingly awesome – keep rockin it!
Oblivious-to-being-a-total-queermo-teenage me would have COVERED her bedroom walls with posters of Reneice.
Just saying.
Also, am now solidifying my theory that I am the only queer in existence who did not receive their plaid shirt in the mail. Did it get lost with the A+ stickers?
Many of these shirts should be in the Autostraddle shop.
If I had realized my Ken dolls innate lesbianism as a young child, I probably would have reconsidered that long-distance trunk driving career path I put them all on.
i love you all so much. keep shining out there. the world needs you.
How does this community get perfecter and perfecter. How.
I feel like I belong
I’m in a place with really shitty signal so I had to essentially lean out the window of a car on a busy motorway, and tbh? Worth it.
Lesbian Ken: Worth risking your life for in heavy traffic.
(But actually no, be safe and don’t lean your head out the window while in a fast car mmmk? /momvoice)
How can there be so many perfect humans? Great job, everyone! So in awe of everyone who submitted multiple photos (of whom, Cameron Esposito is clearly queen.)
You nailed it, Reniece! So many people own pink bowties! And tropical t-shirts!
Priscila’s A-Camp look! Gilbert wins best rollerblade Ken for the Smile if You’re Gay shirt. Excellent touch.
I keep missing the boat for these galleries and this time because I was trying to find an official Barbie that matches one of my ballgowns so I could have Barbie and Ken to submit of myself.
<_<
Wow wow wow. I feel like I’m impressed by all the incredible things you do as well as how many people had their outfit ideas co-opted for Ken’s evil plan.
Any rad educators want to digitally organize and be best friends? We can still talk about Ken! And maybe teaching!
#blessed
you all are magic
This is definitely the theme of the next a-camp dance, right? I feel like I’m at a-camp right now because I now have awkward <3 crushes <3 on like all of the people who submitted.
WE ARE ALL PREPPY CHECK KEN
Best. Gallery. Ever.
I also really enjoyed that it was organized by name. My little girls were looking with me and kept asking who everyone was, so I was reading the names out loud. We were very impressed with the “matching game!”
I don’t know how I got here so late but my gosh. I love each and everyone one of you and want to date a bunch of you, apparently Lesbian Ken is my type.
Women are superior to men, why would you want to look like a male? Compared to you they are pathetic.