The Ken Conundrum

For the most part, every little girl plays with Barbies (and some little boys do too) at some point in their childhood. So it stands to reason then that almost every little girl has come across and run into at some point what I like to dub "the Ken Conundrum." what is the Ken Conundrum you ask? Aside from being phonetically intriguing, it is the idea that the ratio of Barbie dolls to Ken dolls (in a typical household) is usually highly unbalanced in the favor of the blonde bombshell. In fact scientic studies done to support my theory show that the Barbie to Ken Ratio is actually 30:1. (disclaimer- i totally just made all that up) keeping these numbers in mind, the ken Conundrum is the problem of deciding which Barbie's get to date Ken.

Little girls have a couple key decisions to make when faced with the Ken Conundrum. One, they can choose to dip their toes into the drama of having Ken date more than one Barbie (which usually ends in tears). Two, they can choose to pair up their elusive Ken doll with their Favorite Barbie, leaving the least favorite Barbies sad and alone. Three, they can forgo Ken (men) altogether. A fourth option is available however and this was the option that my sister and i typically chose (we were pragmatic afterall).
Instead of whoring Ken out, exulting a singular relationship, or turning Barbie lesbian my sister and I chose a more independent route. Our Barbies were hot-to-trot divorcees. Independent and attractive dolls who left the troughs of an unhealthy relationship. Often we brought in Ken as the occasional date or ex-husband but most of the time we simply left him to rot in his plastic bin. Our Barbie's were career women (albeit with skimpy clothes) who didn't need a man to validate her. Often times we even threw in a Stacy doll and made them single mothers. (Stacy, for those of you unlucky to be intimately familiar with the Mattel World, is roughly an 8 year old girl (ahem, doll) who actually is supposed to be Barbie's younger sister).

So the lesson is this; instead of fretting over the fact that you don't have an adequate amount of Ken dolls, break up your Barbie Dream House, throw in a child and let go of your childish notions that you have to have an equal number of Barbie and Ken dolls (because everyone knows that is JUST not going to happen.)