Sweet-Talkin' Ken Doll: Do 5-Year-Olds Really Need To Be Sweet Talked?

With piercing blue eyes and Bieber-esque blonde hair, he's "the ultimate boyfriend." In fact, he even wears a t-shirt that says Ultimate Boyfriend (in multiple languages). No, I'm not talking about the man of your daydreams, I'm talking about the "Sweet Talkin' Ken Doll" -- marketed to your 5-year-old.

Mattel's website describes this sugary-sweet Ken as follows:

He's the ultimate boyfriend for every occasion. Why? Because this handsome Ken doll says whatever you want him to say! Just press the button on his chest to record your own voice for up to five seconds. Then play it back in a high, normal, or low pitch. Sweet!

Sweet is right ... or is it? Ken is by no means new to controversy -- he went through a tragic divorce with Barbie in 2004 and reconciled with her earlier this year. But I'll admit when I first heard the name of the "Sweet Talkin' Ken Doll," I was a little bit horrified. Blogger Carla Birnberg over at Shine, had a similar initial reaction: "Barbie dolls are injurious enough to our girls' self-esteem, but a 'sweet talking' male they're supposed to long to own so he can sweet talk them -- I lost my mother-mind," she writes.

I imagined that Ken's sound bites would be pre-recorded -- something along the lines of "Come on Barbie, let's go party," or "Let's go live in our white picket dream house with 2.5 children, while you stay in the kitchen." Instead, the doll's owner gets to record Ken's voice by pressing a little heart on Ken's t-shirt and speaking into a microphone built into his chiseled abs. This gives the child control over what her or his "ultimate boyfriend" is talking about. Aha! This not only makes the doll more interactive, but it also says this Ken doll doesn't have to be a surfer dude or a groom.

Which may mean the problematic aspect of the doll isn't what it does, but how it's marketed. Why couldn't "Sweet Talkin' Ken Doll" be "Smart Talkin' Ken Doll?" Why is he the ultimate boyfriend rather than the ultimate friend? Do kids ages 5 to 10 really need a romantic, significant other to pump up their self-esteem?

"Sweet Talkin' Ken" isn't the most offensive toy of the year -- who can forget August's t-shirt-gate? -- but it doesn't seem to have any real, positive value for a young child. And frankly, Ken's sweet-talkin' doesn't even sound so sweet ... it actually sounds kind of creepy. Check out this video from Toy Fair 2011 and tell us what you think:

 

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Comments

[Susan Marg]

11:08 AM on 10/28/2011

Interesting column, Emma, but I don’t see anything wrong with Sweet-Talkin’ Ken. Children will project onto the doll what they want to hear, and they want to hear that they are loved. Parents, take note.

[EvieEve]

06:26 PM on 10/27/2011

This story should be in the comedy section

[msnikki73]

06:12 PM on 10/27/2011

Why encourage five year olds to have or want a boyfriend? It could have just been a talking Ken doll without the innuendo. As a family when my niece and nephews were younger we would always correct adults who would ask them if they had a boyfriend or girlfriend by telling them no they do not, they have friends. Now lo and behold 15 years later among the friends and family members who thought such things were cute and funny, they are the only ones who do NOT have children out of wedlock. Society wants to claim they are outraged by teen pregnancy and children having sex at younger ages, yet want to say there is nothing wrong with promoting this.

[Desi76]

06:07 PM on 10/27/2011

I am seriously sooooo sick of people making such big deal about dolls !! I am 35 years old and have played with every doll, barbie imaginable since I was a kid and I now buy it for my 6 year old daughter. I don't EVER remember as a kid thinking, "this barbie has big boobs, small waist and blonde hair and I need to have that too" OR having a "bad" self esteem from an effen Barbie doll. I think adults overthink things too much. It's basically a Barbie voice changer. If you watch the video you can make Ken talk in 3 different voices(whether an adult thinks it's creepy or not). Kids think that's hysterical and most likely will want one so they can say weird, silly things in a Ken doll and he spits it back out. End of story...Seriously, people need to stop taking everything to the extreme!

[Rebeckah CaseyCardiel]

08:19 PM on 10/27/2011

I sooooooooooooooooooooooooo agree with that school of thought. Kids are gonna be kids, but parents need to lighten up. It's called parenting, and perhaps other parents out there should practice it more often, instead of placing blame on a toy when their kids end up eff'd up. Logic would say that if you talk to your kids about things, they'll be more equipped to handle situations and make better decisions. I played with Barbies as a kid, and you know what I thought of them? Nothing. They're plastic dolls with awesome hair/clothes. That's about it! Having a Ken doll sure didn't encourage me to wanna go out and find a boyfriend. At that age, boys were sweaty and mean.But hey, I'm sure there are kids out there who have a warped sense of real life and their own perceptions on how they should be. I don't know any, but if you come across any, be sure to tell 'em to wake up to reality. It's a doll, not life. LOL..............

[Desi76]

11:19 AM on 10/29/2011

Exactly !!

[Greenblue]

03:42 PM on 10/27/2011

Chucky 2012 -_-

[Jenna Cracco]

03:13 PM on 10/27/2011

It never ceases to amaze me that people automatically think 'OMG PEDO!!' when a toy like this is released. It doesn't say bad things about the toy or the manufacturer, it says bad things about the people who just assume something is sexual when it isn't. A stranger, with or without a doll, should not be getting anywhere near your small child, because if they do, then you're simply not doing your job as a parent.

Now in the REAL WORLD, if you give a five year old a doll like this, she will probably have no idea that the point is for him to talk 'romantically'. A five year old doesn't know what sex or romance is. As a previous poster said, 'Sweet-Talkin' Ken will probably spend most of his battery life telling fart jokes.

The comment in article about Barbie staying in the kitchen is way out of line, too. Barbie has had more careers than Ken over the years, to be sure. I'm sure no one would complain if they made a 'stay-at-home Dad' Ken, but if they made a 'stay-at-home Mom' Barbie, the media would be all over Mattel for sexism. People need to stop laying their personal prejudices at the feet of innocent toys; kids will play how they want to play, regardless of the intent or 'backstory' of the doll.

[Angelfire]

04:44 PM on 10/27/2011

I 100 % Agree ! I find this Doll well - Sickening !! Shame on Mattel !!
P. S. I loved the " Fart Joke " Part !!! LOL !!

[Jenna Cracco]

05:13 PM on 10/27/2011

...um, except my entire point was that the people who have a problem with the doll are overreacting, so what are you agreeing with, exactly?

If your first reaction on seeing a doll like this is to wonder how a pedophile might use it to hurt children, then there's nothing wrong with the doll...just with you.

[cassandracg]

02:44 PM on 10/27/2011

I am going to buy one of these, record completely inappropriate things on it, and give it to my best friend on her birthday. Best gag gift ever.

[Rebeckah CaseyCardiel]

08:27 PM on 10/27/2011

HELL YEAH! She'll piss herself when she plays it back! Hahahaha!! Love it...

[obamich44]

02:27 PM on 10/27/2011

Very weird and creepy. Odd message too. Granted, most kids are going to make the doll say some innocently ridiculous things. Still, very very strange marketing.

[KatelynnH]

01:21 PM on 10/27/2011

I personally think this doll is horrifying. I literally just saw it at my job after we closed the other day and even my coworkers agree it's disturbing. I can imagine the pedos already and what they would make these dolls say to the little girls they're trying to swoop up into their windowless white vans. Some people may be lenient about it and not think it's a big deal, but in my opinion, we shouldn't be promoting boyfriends for little girls so young. And people wonder why kids start growing up too fast!

[FinalHorcrux]

01:20 PM on 10/27/2011

I should give this to my mum on mother's day.

[gouko787]

11:30 AM on 10/27/2011

My daughter has one. He mostly says things about farts.

[Herzdieb Smith]

11:16 AM on 10/27/2011

*Berry

[Herzdieb Smith]

11:16 AM on 10/27/2011

CHUCK BARRY

[Jan Eckhard]

11:00 AM on 10/27/2011

I think Ken might be starring in the next Anonymous video... "We are Anonymous. We are Legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us."

[Stan Cunningham]

10:54 AM on 10/27/2011

This is creepy to the tens!