Dear Barbie,

Hi, it's Ken. Really great to hear you're doing well in the real world with your new genitalia. That must be amazing! I for my part, am still trying to find my way, to find my place in the world without being a mere appendage, arm candy as it were. What is my purpose? How can I be of service? To merely "live for myself" doesn't really seem to be enough - I feel empty without someone or some cause to dedicate myself to ... I guess that's a long-winded way of saying I miss you. I find myself wondering sometimes if maybe having my own genitalia would help with my sense of purpose, maybe even my own vagina instead of a penis, but from what I can tell, that just seems to make things more complicated. It's tough enough dealing with one brain - much less another one that doesn't really seem to have much of a ingrained value set. 

So to take up the time I've been reading a fair amount. Old stuff. Some new. Watching the social chatter, and trying to put our present circumstances into proper perspective - for me, for us, for men, for women and of course for dolls everywhere. I've been talking and messaging with all kinds of people about our recent adventures - and it's really made me think. About gender roles. The job that female objectification has done on the girl psyche - and boys, too. 

But mostly I've been thinking about men and what a wreck they've made of the world. The violence. The power games. The wars. ​And of course even though I'm a one-dimensional cartoon projection of what a 5-year old thinks a man should be with no actual personal agency, I can't help but feel some sort of residual guilt on behalf of man(un)kind and my own stupid part in our recent drama! It's horrifying! My attraction to the patriarchy was so intoxicating – It swept me away - it was the first time I'd ever felt strong, alive, like my own self! A man among men, doing dumb man things! I'm so embarrassed. But thankfully, the fever passed - and in the end, I see it for what it was - just another way to get your attention. We're no better than bulls clunking horns - it's all just a big game to decide who's the alpha and who gets to rule the herd. It's so obvious and boy do I feel stupid for how easily I was manipulated ... how we all were! But thank God things are back the way they are supposed to be, or at least the way they were, with Barbies leading Barbie-world and in the so-called Real World, well, ... perhaps we'll see some positive changes. But to be real about the real world, I just don't know. 

My main hope is that people can all stop being so reductionist and move past the promises made to them by marketers when they were 5, 12, 17, and even 30. Maybe in the end I'm lucky to not be real. I'm not sure if I'd even want to be. Because now I can see the mischief that all of these sexual/gender based insecurities, sublimated frustrations and power projections cause – I can see them for they are. Look, I'm no Freudian - far from it. And if there's a light at the end of this particular tunnel, the entire real world needs to work together to solve some very real problems. And Barbie, as a newly minted real girl, you're just the person to help make some positive changes. After all - all these "great men" of history have had their chance! And you can see the results. 

Anyhooooo, I'm going for a walk on the beach with Weird Barbie and Alan so I gotta go. It's hilarious, I never would have hung out with them before, but I'm really enjoying their perspective - and I can't wait to hear what you'll be up to next. Keep in touch. 

Best, 
your pal, Ken  

PS - I almost forgot! I just found out – get this – that Los Angeles isn't actually a state, in fact - it might not even be part of the "real world" at all! I think that there could actually be another real world that's even more "real"! I'll let you know more when I find out more. 
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