Ken Doll Cake Sparks LGBT Debate

The bakery co-owner felt the buttercream work was 'amazing'
By Elizabeth Armstrong Moore,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 26, 2016 9:20 AM CDT
Ken Doll Cake Sparks LGBT Debate
Freeport Bakery in Sacramento, Calif., posted this image with the caption "Ken's looking good" on Aug. 13, 2016. It quickly went viral.   (Freeport Bakery / Facebook)

A couple weeks ago, a group of friends that meets monthly for a dice game in Sacramento, Calif., decided to order a Ken doll cake for a birthday party. The recipient isn't transgender and the cake, which features a dolled-up Ken, wasn't meant to be political, but when co-owner Marlene Goetzeler "naively" posted a photo of "how great they did with the buttercream" to the Freeport Bakery Facebook page, she says she was "shocked" and then "surprised" to see that the playful image had sparked a far-flung LGBT debate with hundreds of shares and comments, reports KCRA-TV. Many people "unliked" the Facebook page, she says. "What's wrong with a Ken cake?" she asks. Goetzeler began deleting negative comments because she didn't want the company Facebook page "to be a big drama."

The Ken doll wears a pink dress made out of frosting, as well as a sash, tiara, and some jewelry, and Goetzeler tells KTXL-TV that it isn't unusual as far as cakes go. (The bakery is known for its Barbie doll cake.) Chad Graham, a member of the birthday group, says he thought the cake was "fantastic" and the debate "a little ridiculous. It was just a cake." Amidst the backlash, some commenters and local customers are now showing their support. "I don't think there's anything negative about it," one customer says. Adds a Facebook commenter, "Good for you guys. Maybe you make a complete set (as complete as possible) of all the varieties humans come in." For her part, Goetzeler is no longer asking what the big deal is: "Now I realize how important it is to take a stand if you believe in something." (More Barbie stories.)

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