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What Is The 'My Ken's Job' TikTok Trend? The 'Barbie' Movie And Why Ken's A Meme, Explained
The Barbie movie has seemingly taken over the internet this week. Sitting on top of all the hype is Ryan Gosling's portrayal of Ken. Although many thought his Kenergy was Kenough, he's since spawned a new TikTok trend called "My Ken's job".
The trend in question is rather wholesome even though its joke seems to be at the expense of every man. In every relationship, there's a Ken and there's a Barbie. With this meme, it's the Barbie that's doing all the posting.
Curious about what this meme is, where it came from and why it's on your "For You" page today? Let's explain.
What Is The 'My Ken's Job' TikTok Trend?
The trend is based on a particular quote from the since-viral movie which was released in theaters last week. The quote was said by Ryan Gosling's character Ken, who in one scene tells all of the other characters (or dolls) what his occupation was. He simply said, "My job is just beach."
First clip from Greta Gerwig’s ‘BARBIE’.“My job… is just beach.” pic.twitter.com/y8zVoH2xr8
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) July 3, 2023
Inherently, the quote inspired women in the audience to wonder what their Ken's job was. If Ken's word was "beach," their husbands and boyfriends might have their own singular word which described what their job would be in a theoretical Barbie World.
The simple association inspired a meme trend in which women filmed their male partner going to work, at work or doing their favorite hobby and then writing in the video's caption, "My Ken's job is X," filling in the "X" with their one-word description.
@hannahrames My kens job is fly ✈️💘 #barbie #myken ♬ I’m Just Ken – Ryan Gosling
@kelseygilbreath My Ken’s job is field! #coloradorockies #mlbwife #baseballcouples #husbandwife #myken #kensjob #barbie ♬ I’m Just Ken – Ryan Gosling
Where Did The 'My Ken's Job' Meme Come From?
The meme started on TikTok earlier this week, on July 23rd, when TikToker @brelynholmeslecheminant posted a video of her Ken doing his job, "truck." The video shows him passionately washing his pick-up truck. The TikTok gained over 120,000 plays in less than a week, ultimately inspiring others to post similar videos.
@brelynholmeslecheminant Had to objectify him for this 💖✨#barbiecore #kenergy ♬ Barbie World (with Aqua) [From Barbie The Album] – Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice & Aqua
Why Is Barbie's Ken A Meme?
It's fairly obvious that the Barbie movie is one of the most successful films of the year, especially in regards to viral marketing. Of course, it had its competitor, Oppenheimer, which was paired against it in many Barbenheimer memes. But, in all honesty, Barbie appears to have soared far past old Oppenheimer in box office sales so far.
With this in mind, Barbie has already inspired numerous meme trends. Out of all of them, though, Ryan Gosling's character Ken has definitely inspired the most memes.
The reason for Ken's meme stardom is predominantly due to actor Ryan Gosling. The man has inspired countless memes over the course of his acting career, spanning from Drive to Blade Runner. In a way, Gosling has grown a cult following of specifically chronically online men who say "literally me" every time they see him on screen.
Through this phenomenon, Ryan Gosling and his previous characters have become symbols of the ideal sigma male, a variation of an alpha male whose smarter, quieter and arguably stronger. Gosling's Ken-like physique in the new film is also reminiscent of the ideal male body standard that his internet fanboys strive for.
These cross-cultural patterns that run between Gosling's past and present are the driving force behind Ken's stardom. So when a meme trend like "My Ken's job" surfaces, it shows how both men and women are making memes about him, accessing their means to an end via different driving forces.
For the full history of "My Ken's job," be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for even more information.
