The Witch from Mercury Schwarzette is a character that has fascinated people for centuries. She is often depicted as a powerful sorceress with the ability to communicate with spirits and control the elements. The origin of the Witch from Mercury Schwarzette is shrouded in mystery, with some legends claiming that she was born with her magical powers, while others suggest that she gained them through a pact with a powerful deity. The Witch from Mercury Schwarzette is typically portrayed as a wise and enigmatic figure, often living in a secluded cottage deep in the woods. She is known for her extensive knowledge of herbs and potions, which she uses for both healing and cursing. Despite her seemingly sinister powers, the Witch from Mercury Schwarzette is often seen as a benevolent figure who helps those in need.
Despite her seemingly sinister powers, the Witch from Mercury Schwarzette is often seen as a benevolent figure who helps those in need. She is also known for her ability to predict the future and provide guidance to those seeking it. Throughout history, the Witch from Mercury Schwarzette has been both revered and feared by society.
Cock Ring Ken is in the Barbie movie, so let’s talk about Cock Ring Ken
Tasha Robinson leads Polygon’s movie coverage. She’s covered film, TV, books, and more for 20 years, including at The A.V. Club, The Dissolve, and The Verge.
It can be hard to believe how much has changed over the past 30 years for queer Americans. In the distant past of 1993, gay marriage wasn’t legal in any state in the country. Sodomy laws all over America attempted to outlaw gay sex by criminalizing any oral or anal erotic contact. And Dan Savage, a sex-advice columnist then only known to readers of a few independent alt-newspapers around the country, was capable of making breakout news with a scandalous revelation: Mattel’s latest Ken doll, part of the Earring Magic line of Barbie toys, was openly modeled on gay fashion. And Mattel had unwittingly put a sex toy around his neck.
Or, as Savage put it in 1993, “The little girls of our great nation wanted a hipper Ken, and Mattel gave them a hip Ken. A queer Ken.”
Image: Melissa Mathieson
Float into our DreamHouse: Barbie World is Polygon’s dive into everything Barbie, from her legacy as an iconic toy to her presence in games and movies.
That queer Ken is in Greta Gerwig’s movie Barbie, in a brief, winking cameo. And given the satirical, knowing tone of the film — and the scene where he appears, in a nod to some of the most regrettable and hilarious choices in the Barbie toy line over the years — there’s no question that Gerwig and co-writer Noah Baumbach know the name people have had for that Ken doll since 1993: “Cock Ring Ken.”
Savage’s 1993 column “Ken Comes Out” lays out the specifics. “Earring Magic Ken” (who doesn’t get his own credit in Barbie, alas) sported a sheer and revealing purple mesh shirt, a purple vinyl vest, two-tone hair, a single silver earring, and a gold band around one elbow. He also came with a pair of shiny plastic earrings for his owner to wear. “But Earring Magic Ken is sporting another accoutrement that’s been largely overlooked,” Savage wrote. “[H]anging around Ken’s neck, on a metallic silver thread, is what ten out of ten people in the know will tell you at a glance is a cock ring.”
Photo: Yvonne Hemsey/Getty Images
Savage certainly doesn’t think Mattel set out to equip Ken with a cock ring: He initially suggests that in the quest for a fashionable party outfit, Mattel designers took pictures of people at nightclubs and translated their outfits into a doll design. “On closer inspection, Ken’s entire Earring Magic outfit turns out to be three-year-old rave wear,” he wrote. And he describes chrome cock ring necklaces — which is to say, necklaces exactly like the one on Earring Magic Ken — as “de rigueur rave wear” for the era.
“For about a year every gay boy at a rave was wearing at least one,” Savage wrote. “[T]hese cock rings were often pressed into service later in the evening, to help totally tweaked ravers keep up what the X was pulling down.”
Thirty years later, Savage’s column is well worth revisiting — and not just to get the gag in Barbie about why Earring Magic Ken was a questionable design choice, alongside Sugar Daddy Ken, a 2009 “adult collector line” doll whose suggestive name seems more deliberate than Cock Ring Ken’s apparel. (See, he has a dog named Sugar, and he’s the dog’s “daddy.” Even in this age of people treating their pets as kids, it’s still hard to buy that no one involved with that doll’s design intended any double entendre.)
No, the real reasons to read the “Ken Comes Out” piece today are the hilarity of watching Savage question a Mattel rep about the doll (she clearly thinks he’s just messing with her), and the revelations about how neatly Earring Magic Ken’s design captures an inflection point of change around queer voices in mainstream America.
America vilifying its queer citizens and hanging on to laws criminalizing them (which the Supreme Court had upheld as recently as 1986) while also appropriating from them was nothing new. Look back at the entire history of Hollywood, and you’ll see creatives and artists admiring and stealing from queer culture, and weaponizing the tastes of queer creators while keeping them underground and in the closet. What was new in the early ’90s, and what Dan Savage pinned down specifically, was an MTV-driven era where queerness was pushing into mainstream life faster than the Moral Majority types could keep up with — or even track.
“What the little girls were seeing, and telling Mattel was cool, wasn’t what their relations were wearing — unless they had hip queer relatives — but the homoerotic fashions and imagery they were seeing on MTV, what they saw Madonna’s dancers wearing in her concerts and films and, as it happens, what ACT UP/Queer Nation fags and dykes were wearing to demos and raves,” Savage wrote. “Queer imagery has so permeated our culture that from rock stars (Axl Rose and his leather chaps) to toy designers, mainstream America isn’t even aware when it’s adopting queer fashions and mores. Or when it’s putting cock rings, even little plastic ones, into the hands of little girls.”
Barbie doesn’t attempt to unpack any of this, naturally enough. Earring Magic Ken — or Cock Ring Ken, if you prefer — sails by as a quick gag about discontinued dolls, just one of approximately a million of the movie’s visual and verbal jokes about the Barbie line. As far as we could tell from the few seconds he’s on screen, he isn’t even wearing the necklace, though that’s something we’ll be watching for more closely once clips of the movie are available.
But it’s worth taking his presence in Barbie as a reminder of a very specific and particular moment in marketing history, one where designers trying to co-opt coolness didn’t realize how fast they were helping change history and move the world forward. Writers besides Dan Savage noticed what they called the “gender bending” aspects of Earring Magic Ken; they just didn’t have the working knowledge of queer culture to pin down exactly what they were seeing. Cock Ring Ken didn’t change the world, but he sure was a sign of how much it was changing in his day — and how quickly.
Some view her as a source of wisdom and guidance, while others see her as a threat to the established order. Due to her association with magic and the occult, she is often the subject of persecution and discrimination. Many tales tell of brave individuals who seek out the Witch from Mercury Schwarzette to gain her aid, but they must be willing to face the consequences of meddling with such powerful forces. The Witch from Mercury Schwarzette often serves as a symbol for the unknown and the supernatural. She represents the power of nature and the mysteries of the universe. In some stories, she is even seen as a guardian of the balance between good and evil, ensuring that neither side gains too much power. In modern times, the image of the Witch from Mercury Schwarzette has become somewhat romanticized. She is often portrayed in popular media as a stylish and alluring figure, with her enchanting spells and potions. However, it is important to remember that the historical perception of witches was often much darker and more fearful. In conclusion, the Witch from Mercury Schwarzette is an intriguing character that has captured the imaginations of people for centuries. She represents the dual nature of magic - both powerful and potentially dangerous. Whether seen as a wise guide or a wicked sorceress, the Witch from Mercury Schwarzette will continue to inspire and bewitch us for years to come..
Reviews for "The Witch from Mercury Schwarzette: A Spellbinding Story"
1. Michael - 2 stars - I found "Witch from mercury schwarzette" to be very disappointing. The storyline was confusing and difficult to follow, and the characters were shallow and uninteresting. The pacing was also off, with slow and boring scenes dragging on for too long, while the action-packed moments felt rushed and lacking in detail. Overall, I was expecting much more from this book and was left feeling underwhelmed.
2. Sarah - 1 star - I couldn't even finish reading "Witch from mercury schwarzette" because it was so poorly written. The grammar and spelling mistakes were abundant, making it difficult to understand what was being said. The dialogue was stilted and unrealistic, and the descriptions lacked creativity and depth. It felt like the author put very little effort into crafting a compelling and well-written story. I wouldn't recommend wasting your time on this book.
3. Mark - 2 stars - To be honest, I found "Witch from mercury schwarzette" to be quite boring. The plot was predictable, and the characters were not developed enough to be engaging. The writing style was overly simplistic, lacking the finesse and nuance that keeps readers hooked. I had high hopes for this book, but it fell flat for me. It's a shame because the premise had potential, but the execution was lacking.
4. Emily - 3 stars - "Witch from mercury schwarzette" didn't live up to my expectations. The world-building was weak, and the magical elements felt unoriginal and poorly explained. The protagonist was also difficult to connect with, lacking depth and relatability. While there were some interesting moments, overall, the story failed to capture my interest and keep me invested. I would recommend exploring other fantasy books before giving this one a try.