Credit: Warner Bros.“What is a Ken; how does one spot a Ken?
This question was posed to three Barbies – and one Real Girl – from the upcoming Barbie movie directed by Greta Gerwig.
Margot Robbie, America Fererra, Issa Rae, and Kate McKinnon recently sat down with Fandango to discuss the inevitable blockbuster, and in answering the question, they touched on a central theme of the movie that has not been mentioned so far in the press.
Throughout the press tour for the Barbie movie, it’s been made clear on multiple occasions that in BarbieLand, Ken is… kind of just there. He’s not the President; he’s not a doctor, lawyer, or even a party host – he’s just a dude who likes Barbie and hangs out on the beach.
Of course, those guys aren’t that common in real life – still, there is something about the Ken category of guy that the film creates that, at least to Margot Robbie and Issa Rae, also rings true in real life.
Margot Robbie Says Guys Who Talk About Bitcoin Are “Such Kens”
Related: Margot Robbie Thought “They” Would Never Let Her Make ‘Barbie’
The Barbie movie, and especially BarbieLand, the mystical, Toy Story-like setting where the Barbies live, seems to be operating under the praxis of “turnabout is fair play” regarding male-female gender stereotypes.
Back in the day (the 90s and early 2000s, to be specific), it was not at all uncommon to hear someone refer to a woman whom they deemed vapid and without substance as a “Barbie,” creating a stereotype of a pretty girl with nothing going on in her head.
(This is the stereotype that the hit film Legally Blonde pushed back against, which makes Barbie’s visual and thematic similarities so far all the more exciting.)
These women were accused of only caring about things like clothes, parties, and their appearances, even though they all surely had, you know, value as human beings.
If that stereotype exists, it makes sense that there should also be a stereotype like that for Kens in BarbieLand – and there is.
Related: Ryan Gosling to His ‘Barbie’ Movie Haters: “Your Hypocrisy is Exposed”
Margot Robbie couldn’t give an exact definition, but she did offer some very helpful examples:
When we were in prep for this movie – two of our wonderful producers, one of whom is also my husband – when David and Tom would start talking about Bitcoin or something, Greta and I would be like [insert dramatic full-body eye-roll here] “They’re being such Kens…”
They’d talk about golf, we’d be like, “Stop being Kens.”
It’s hard to define what exactly makes a Ken, but it’s safe to say that if you – as a woman – have ever been in a conversation with dudes where it seems like they’re speaking an entirely different language – they were probably being Kens.
However, being a Ken isn’t always a bad thing. Margot Robbie clarified that there could also be Big Ken Energy – Kenergy, if you will.
Like “being a Ken,” “Kenergy” is not something you can define – it’s just something you can sense, and you know it when you do.
Issa Rae of ‘Barbie’ Says Supportive Men Have Big Ken Energy
Related: Ryan Gosling Crashed a Barbie-Only Sleepover In The Most Hilarious Way
Issa Rae, who plays President Barbie in the film, stepped in to define what makes a guy give off Kenergy – and a lot of it honestly sounds very similar to the role of a traditional 1950s housewife.
“I think a Ken for me is…just kinda there? You know? I think a Ken is a great accessory…but that’s what I loved about Greta’s imagining of Barbie, is that the Kens are just supplemental characters to these Barbies.”
Rae wanted to make it clear that – like the actual role of housewife – there isn’t anything inherently wrong about that. Only when it becomes part of the culture does it begin to create an issue.
Barbies can do everything, Kens are there to just kind of support, and don’t necessarily have their own stories and I think that’s not necessarily a negative thing. I think it’s incredibly strong for men to be in supportive roles and to support the greatness that is women-slash-Barbie.
The Barbie world attempts to illustrate one thing plainly by turning these gender stereotypes on their head, which is that they hold people back from being everything they could be – but by doing so, they also created some real-life examples of people that we don’t get to see on screen very often, which is always fun.
After all – where else do you see get to see Kens who aren’t ashamed to be Kens?
Do you have any good examples of Kenergy to share? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments below.