New Ken Dolls Featuring Everything From Man Buns To Dadbods Are Causing Quite The Stir

Barbie’s longtime boyfriend is finally getting a serious makeover. Mattel has just rolled out a brand new line of Ken dolls — fifty years after the eponymous blond-haired, blue-eyed, perpetually tanned figures were first introduced — only now sporting three body types (regular, slender, and the delicately put “broad”), seven skin tones, and nine hairstyles. The first 10 dolls, which were unveiled on Good Morning America Tuesday morning, hit stores today — while the following five will be released in the coming months.

Of course, of these new hairstyles, there’s only one everyone cares about:

But man buns are just the start, as Caity Weaver points out in her must-read GQ profile on the line of new dolls:

There will be an “original”-size Ken with cornrows. A “slim” Ken with a fade. A mixed-race Ken with a man bun. Asian Kens. Latino Kens. A pale white Ken and a tan white Ken. A Ken who is wearing a watch. A Ken who is…“broad.”

Although Weaver observes that the “broad” Ken could be decidedly a bit more “dadbod-ish,” as fans suggested when Barbie got her own overhaul last year. It’s also worth noting that none of these new (dare we say) “hipster” Ken dolls appear to come with any body jewelry, as Mattel surely remembers what happened last time they tried that.

At any rate, dadbod or not, you don’t go giving Ken a man bun and expect the internet not to have jokes:

https://twitter.com/TriCom_Storm/status/877186249722822656

https://twitter.com/robwilliamsNY/status/877188263571795970

When all is said and done with these new Ken dolls however, sadly, the following still probably holds true:

https://twitter.com/Laura_Beth_02/status/877153662484840448

(Via GMA, GQ)