Barbie boy in a Barbie world: New teen novel reflects gay teens' high school hardships

When Vancouver-based author Raziel Reid was a child, he was obsessed with Barbie dolls. But he wasn't allowed to play with them at home.

So Reid would sneak playing with his sister's Beverly Hills 90210 Barbie dolls.

"It was this dirty little secret that I played with dolls," Reid told North by Northwest host Sheryl MacKay.

Reid's new and second novel, Kens, is a high school story, inspired by the plastic Barbie world he fell in love with.

In the teen novel, the stereotypical high school hierarchy is reimagined and parodied. Think Mean Girls, meets Heathers, meets The Stepford Wives, with an LGBTQ twist.  

"In this town, beauty and popularity trump everything else. It's the playground for these characters," says Reid.

Despite the "plastic, pink, glittery world" the Kens characters live in, the book deals with some heavy subject matter, including teen suicide, body image, Black Lives Matter and school shootings.

Laughter heals

Reid spent years researching Mattel, the American toy company that makes Barbie. All the characters in Kens are named after Barbie dolls, and Mattel is referenced throughout the book. He uses this inspiration as a tool for discussing the issues close to his heart. 

Reid's first writing gig was for the gay bi-weekly newspaper Xtra Vancouver, which is no longer in print.  

"I was constantly writing about gay kids who had attempted suicide or had achieved it."

Because of this, Reid says he wanted Kens to highlight the issue of gay teen suicide.

But even though the subject matter is heavy, readers can expect to smile throughout the book.

"I believe that laughter heals. I subscribe to the Joan Rivers philosophy that nothing is off limits … I'm dealing with such heavy issues that really weigh on us emotionally and psychologically every day."

Reid says he is not making fun of the issues by parodying them. Instead, he is trying to create a space where readers can be released from the pressure of the heavy subject matter.

"You have to just laugh at the absurdity of life and the oppression of life, or it will kill you."

Living in a fast world

Kens is a fast-paced book that highlights teens' relationships to social media. Reid wanted to highlight people's tendency to move on to the next issue quickly. 

"Things are happening so fast, politically and socially, and we see it in our media and on social media. One thing is trending after the next, and we don't really have time to cope with it. I wanted this book to mirror that."

Reid says society's ability to scroll past difficult news stories while seeking out pop culture stories hints at a need for escapism.

"A part of it is self-preservation. Because there's so much, and I don't think we know how to cope with it all."

Reid will appear at the Vancouver Writer's Festival this week.

Listen to the full interview here:

With files by North by Northwest.