David Bowie is getting all dolled up for the 50th anniversary of “Space Oddity,” whether he likes it or not. Mattel has announced plans to commemorate the occasion by releasing a Barbie doll dressed as Bowie’s early ’70s alter ego, Ziggy Stardust.
The $50 doll is being marketed for the “adult collector,” according to the product page, forestalling complaints from parents “not sure if (it’s) a boy or a girl” their children are playing with. For the record, Barbie appears to still be very much a young woman in this incarnation, despite having adopted Bowie’s androgynous glam-rock look.
Mattel is not letting the fact that the Ziggy era postdates “Space Oddity” by several years interfere with anniversary plans, since a Major Tom doll would have been far less recognizable, not to mention playing with the androgyny issues even more.
Regrettably, Mattel has not announced plans to issue a corresponding Ken doll dressed up as Ken Scott, the legendary producer of both “Space Oddity” and “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.”
Public lobbying for a Barbie Jobriath starts… now.