Meet Gay Bob: the world's first gay doll who took the late 1970s by storm

Before the outcry against Mattel’s “gender-neutral” dolls, and before the collecting of OOAK non-binary “art pieces” and the gifting of glammed up drag icons, there was Bob. “Gay Bob” was the world’s very first openly homosexual doll and in 1977, he began shipping to homes across the nation in his own cardboard closet.

Gay Bob was no mere child’s plaything. While Barbie and Ken, his younger neighbors with their mutually rock-hard and forever perky pectorals, were molded in the image of young sexual maturity, Gay Bob was clearly a grown-ass man. His pronounced nasolabial folds, sculpted chest, and blonde dye job suggested a doll in its 40s, full of the wisdom of self-actualization.

Unlike Ken, he also had a complete set of anatomically correct genitals. Bob was a doll that knew what he wanted – and that was to live authentically while teaching other people, queer and straight, what it meant to be “out.”

We know this because his mission statement was printed on the box:

“Hi boys, girls and grownups, I’m Gay Bob, the world’s first gay doll. I bet you are wondering why I come packed in a closet. ‘Coming out of the closet’ is an expression which means that you admit the truth about yourself and are no longer ashamed of what you are… A lot of straight people should come out of their ‘straight closets’ and take the risk of being honest about what they are. People who are not ashamed of what they are, are more lovable, kind, and understanding. That is why everyone should come out of “their closet” so the world will be a more loving, understanding, and fulfilling place to live. Gay people are no different than straight people. If everyone came out of their closets, there wouldn’t be so many angry, frustrated, frightened people… It’s not easy to be honest about what you are; in fact it takes a great deal of courage. But remember, if Gay Bob has the courage to come out of his closet, so can you!”