GAY 76

GAY DOLLS....is the topic for today.  LET me just say ....should you be younger than 18 you should not be reading this.  And I am an equal opportunity seeker of doll knowledge.  SO, that being said read on, a little piece of doll history. 

"A brief story of Billy:

In 1994, John McKitterick created fashion drawings featuring a beefy and well proportioned character he called "Billy." After the character became famous with his friends, 1,200 specially handcrafted Billy's were created and sold during an AIDS auction in England. Noticing the potential his creation had to put the spotlight on Gay issues, McKitterick decided to mass market his creation Billy in 1997. Billy was mass produced to great acclaim in the United States. Billy was marketed at $49.99 in the United States by London based Totem International as the first out and proud gay doll.  The doll sold more than 45,000 units in the first 6 months, and was a big hit.

A marketing sensation in its own time, Billy had everything: His own fan club, a website, a book, and even his own soda pop by Jones soda called "Billy Pop." Later, he got a boyfriend named Carlos, and those two received a friend named Tyson. McKitterick created the doll based on sketches he drew while living in London. Billy is 13 inches (330 mm) tall. It was introduced in a number of versions based on stereotypical gay characters, including Sailor Billy, Cowboy Billy, Master Billy and San Francisco Billy. Other dolls in the Billy line include Carlos, Billy's Puerto Rican boyfriend, and Tyson, their African American friend. Billy is anatomically correct. The Billy doll was the subject of a 1998 exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City. Several dozen fashion designers created custom outfits for the doll in support of a benefit auction for AIDS charity LIFEBeat. Also in 1998, Billy and Carlos served as the basis for a film, which featured segments based on the Master Billy, Cowboy Billy and San Francisco Billy figures. When he was first launched in the US, Carlos and Tyson soon followed, and there was a flurry of moral panic. But their makers always stressed their anatomically complete dolls were not suitable for children.

And the rest is history!"  This info was taken from the internet.  Thank you to "lovepeaceinc"