Barbies are stereotypically known to be a little girl’s play toy – blonde, thin, in princess costumes, pink blush-on and with sharp and perfect features.
But things are changing around here.
Earlier this year, artist Nickolay Lamm announced a crowdfunding project to create a new type of Barbie called the Lammily doll. The toy features realistic body proportions, less makeup, and brown hair. The new doll offers a stark contrast to the blonde hair, blue eyes, and distorted proportions of the highly criticised and coveted conventional Barbie by Mattel.
As studies have shown, the unrealistic proportions of Barbie translated onto a real human would result in a five-foot-nine, 51kg woman with half a liver and size three feet who would have to walk on all fours.
According to Josh Golin, associate director for a Commercial-Free Childhood, this disconnect between reality and Barbie is a serious problem.
“Barbies promote an impossible body type to young girls,” he said in a press release. “Research shows that girls ages five to eight who are exposed to Barbie reported more dissatisfaction with their own bodies. The American Psychological Association Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls singled out dolls like Barbie for presenting a limiting ‘objectified sexuality’ that is particularly harmful to the doll’s target market.”
Have a look at these more REAL barbies – with stretch marks, doing push-ups, with cellulite, acne and quite ‘normal’ curves.
What do you think of this? Will this improve body positivity and self worth for the next generation? I am so proud and happy of this brilliant body image reshuffle initiative.
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