From Cock Ring Ken and his buddy™️ Allan to the fabulous rainbow manes of the genderless Troll dolls, queerness is woven throughout the shiny plastics of all our most iconic childhood toys.

This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with TikTok and Instagram influencer Connor Clary (@connor.clary) to chat about all of the gayest toys from our childhoods. Whether you were aware of your queerness as a child or not, it’s likely that you interacted with your toys in ways that would have literally everyone highkey questioning your sexuality nowadays. And regardless of what your orientation is now, if you owned Barbies, you were absolutely scissoring them together any chance you got. Honestly that’s on Mattel for making Barbies so damn good at scissoring! But it is not just how we played with our toys that makes them scream homosexual. It’s truly just that the toys themselves are giving gay. 

Barbie was queer from the jump, arriving on the toy scene with one agenda in mind, to shake up the status quo for little girls. From their lack of genitals to their impressive scissoring skills, it’s a real wonder that anyone ever thought they were straight! Then of course there is Barbie’s beloved beard, Ken. There have been a lot of iterations of Ken, but there are perhaps none more gay than Earring Magic Ken and Sugar Daddy Ken. In fact, Earring Magic Ken (lovingly known as Cock Ring Ken by gay men everywhere) was so visibly queer that Dan Savage published an article about him titled Ken Comes Out, sending Mattel into a panic and causing them to discontinue the doll. 

Beyond Barbie, several other childhood favorites made our gayest toy lists including Bop It! (literally a handjob training machine), The Game of Life (you can put two little pink figures into the front of the car, no one is going to stop you), the Furby (essentially what the Babadook would keep as a pet), and Troll dolls (genderless slightly unsettling very naked rainbow creatures). We also bust out some deep cuts, looking into the inherent queerness of Pogs and Slap Bracelets (if you remember these, go take an Advil for your back). 

We know one thing for sure, our childhood toys Should’ve Been Gay. 

Follow us on the platform formerly known as Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay questions at the end of every episode. You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and Instagram (@lezhangoutpod). Find us individually on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok at Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida). 

We are planning another Trova Trip gaycation! Join Ellie, Leigh, and Mermaid Kristin Sparkle in Costa Rica in May 2024 for the queer vacay of a lifetime. For more information and to be among the first to book a spot (and snatch up that early bird discount!), fill out the quick survey at bit.ly/leztrip. 

You can support Lez Hang Out while unlocking a bunch of perks like access to our exclusive Discord, monthly full length bonus episodes (including our latest episode on The Miseducation of Cameron Post), weekly ad free episodes, and more by joining us on Patreon at bit.ly/lezpatreon. You can also support the podcast by buying our original merch at bit.ly/lezshop and purchasing our original Lez-ssentials songs for as little as $1 each on Bandcamp!

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