Looking Back

From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History 

accessible at www.djnfoundation.org

L

ast week, my Looking Back was 
about Barbie. Unless you never read 
a newspaper or turn on a radio or 
TV, or engage with social media, by now, 
you know that Barbie, the 
movie, is a bona fide block-
buster hit. It has earned 
over $1 billion at box offices 
around the world, one of 
the highest grossing films 
this year. To date, it has 
been the top hit for more 
than four weeks.
Surprisingly, the Barbie 
movie also generated a top musical hit 
that has earned great popularity over the 
past couple of weeks: “I’m Just Ken.” As 
of Aug. 17, the song has been streamed 
more than 41 million times. That’s a lot of 
listeners … including me.
Loosely described, the song’s theme is 
that Ken is just sort of an afterthought 
for Barbie. Indeed, the job of Ken — in 
fact, all the Kens in the movie — is to 
hang-out on the beach. 
Kenneth “Ken” Sean Carson, Barbie’s 
official boyfriend, has always been an 
adjunct to Barbara “Barbie” Millicent 
Roberts (these are the doll’s full names) 
since he debuted in 1961, two years 
after Barbie first appeared. In this era 

before the women’s liberation move-
ment really began to grow, some folks 
thought that a single woman like Barbie 
needed a boyfriend. Interestingly, Ken’s 
first outfit was a set of swim trunks and 
a towel. 
BTW — Barbie is named after Jewish 
creator Ruth Handler’s real-life daughter, 
Barbara, and Ken is named after her son, 
Kenneth.
After listening to “I’m Just Ken,” I 
thought maybe I should give Ken a little 
more exposure, so I searched for him in 
the William Davidson Digital Archive of 
Jewish Detroit History. Like the movie, 
however, Ken is decidedly in the back-
ground in the Archive. I found only two 
entries that mention Ken without Barbie, 
and he is not the focus of any story. 
Searching for “Ken” and “Barbie” raised 
68 mentions: in all of them, Barbie is in 
the spotlight.
Ken does make an appearance in 
“Discovering Judaism,” an article about 
the “hands-on” museum at the Jewish 
Community Center. If you look closely at 
the photos, you will see that Zach Glazier 
is holding a Ken doll dressed for Shabbat 
(June 29, 1990, JN). This might be Ken’s 
best moment in the JN. 
Likewise, “Grand Activities” is about 

Joyce Weckstein and grandson Gabriel 
Pachter. In this report about the serious 
subject of playtime with safta, Weckstein 
said that she and her grandson sometimes 
“dress Barbie and Ken for synagogue” 
(Aug. 19, 1994).
Perhaps Ken’s best billing is in an 
advertisement for the Amazing Savings 
store in 1996. It was offering the “Barbie 
Dream Date Game” for “amazing price” 
of $4.99. Ken has top billing as part of the 
game — after Barbie, of course (Feb. 16, 
1996).
Ken does get a mention in “Barbie 
Nation.” This is an excellent article 
regarding a contemporary documentary 
about the Barbie phenomenon (July 7, 
1998).
Beyond this, the best that Ken has 
achieved in the JN seems a reference in 
passing comments. Take, for example, a 
discussion of wedding tuxedos: “Before 
your betrothed turns you and your bud-
dies into walking, talking Ken dolls….” 
(Jan. 26, 1991). 
Poor Ken is never in the spotlight in 
the JN. He never had a chance competing 
with Barbie. 

Want to learn more? Go to the DJN archives, 
available for free at thejewishnews.com.

Mike Smith
Alene and 
Graham Landau 
Archivist Chair

86 | AUGUST 31 • 2023 

Just Ken

