The Brazilian Barbie Mega-Fan That Says Life Isn’t Always Fantastic When It’s Made Of Plastic

By Liana Jacob

 

MEET THE BARBIE-OBSESSED MAN who is constantly compared to KEN due to his flawless makeup and bleach-blonde hair and has been accused of having PLASTIC SURGERY despite explaining that it is ALL NATURAL.

Digital influencer, Maiderson Chrischon (30), from Porto Alegre, Brazil, was brought up by his widowed mother after his father died when he was just one-and-a-half-years-old and has been fascinated with Barbie dolls since he was very young.

In 2014, he posted a picture of him holding up a Barbie-themed phone case to his face and was flooded with comments comparing him to Barbie’s boyfriend Ken. Since then he has embraced the comparison, by applying his makeup and posting pictures of himself on Instagram for his 35.5K followers.

His striking look has positively impacted his professional career as he has become a well-known YouTuber and digital influencer.

However, it has also negatively affected his love life due to men finding his look ‘too feminine’ or ‘too artificial’. He also says that the fame he has gained has made men feel too intimidated to date him.

“I love Barbie for being a fashion/beauty icon as well as an inspiration for girls being independent women and dreaming about having their own careers, their own houses and cars and not depending on men,” Maiderson said.

“I love Ken for being stylish and almost feminine; as a gay man I relate to his sense of style and looks. I really like the fact that Barbie was always the protagonist of her own story and Ken is almost like another accessory to her.

“I like that he’s super fashionable and vain and sometimes looks more like Barbie’s gay friend than her boyfriend.

“I never really intended to have a Ken doll look; I was always attracted to beauty and makeup, so people automatically started comparisons with Ken, and it all happened naturally.

“Being a Barbie fan, as people would call me Ken/Barbie Boy, I started enjoying it and having fun with it, so now I like to bring to life this fantasy of a boy who looks like a doll.

“The comparisons started around 2014 when I posted the picture of me holding a Barbie phone case to my face.

“I dye my hair blonde and wear make-up because that’s how I like to look, not to look more like Ken or Barbie specifically.

“I can have my makeup done in fifteen minutes. But even when I’m not wearing any makeup, people still think I look like Ken.

“I don’t really spend money on my hair and makeup because working as an influencer I get it for free.

“Brazilian makeup brands send me new products every week and I have a great hairstylist that does my hair in exchange for publicity.

“I’m often called Ken or Barbie when I’m walking down the street; people either simply yell, ‘hi, Ken’ or come to me and say, ‘did anyone ever tell you that you look like Barbie’s boyfriend?’

“I’m always nice, I take it as a compliment, so I always say thank you and sometimes act like I’ve never heard it before. I think it is kind of funny that I’m such a huge Barbie fan and happen to look like a doll myself.

“Because of my Barbie-oriented YouTube channel, I made a name for myself locally, so people in my city know me because I’ve been on TV and I started working as a digital influencer.”

While his professional career has soared because of his Ken doll-look, Maiderson has found it difficult to date and meet someone genuine.

“I actually don’t have much spare time since I’m a content creator for many platforms, so when I can, I try to meet my friends for food and drinks so we can catch up and stay in touch,” he said.

“I’m single; dating is kind of complicated for me since I’m locally known for my work on social media, so it’s tricky to filter the people who approach me, sometimes they don’t have the best intentions.

“Being a man who wears makeup, I’m aware that not everybody is attracted to it, some gay men see me as too feminine or too artificial and it can be repelling for them.

“But I guess the same thing happens to girls; some guys like girls who are more natural and wear less makeup, but if you like to wear it, you shouldn’t change who you are to please other people, they should love you for who you are.

“About the ‘fame’ thing, it’s a bit complicated, some will have a preconception of who they think I am, while some feel a little bit intimidated to approach me.

“Others will approach me, not because they’re interested in knowing me as a person, but just because it can be seen as a cool thing to know me or to date me, so I have to be aware of it all.

“I find it really funny when people post comments like, ‘so many plastic surgeries, ew’, when I’ve actually never had any.

“I’d like it to be clear that I never really went through a transformation, I always looked like this and I’m all natural.”