Several dozen fashion designers created custom outfits for the doll in support of a benefit auction for AIDS charity LIFEBeat. The doll was the subject of a 1998 exhibit at the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City. Billy is beautifully sculpted and is exaggeratedly anatomically correct, as is the earlier Bob, although Bob is more modestly proportioned. Other dolls in the Billy line include Carlos, Billy’s Puerto Rican boyfriend, and Tyson, their African American friend. The doll was available with either blond or brown hair. Gay Bob was also anatomically correct – although his proportions were a little more modest than for the Billy line.īilly had a number of guises based on stereotypical gay characters, including Sailor Billy, Cowboy Billy, Master Billy and San Francisco Billy. Gay Bob, the actual first gay doll, complete with his closet and a catalog promising many tongue-in-cheek-outfits that didn’t actually exist.
