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 packaging. 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. Bob wanted to live authentically while teaching other people what it meant to be “out.”
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