Barbie Gets a Make Over

One man is giving Barbie a realistic make over. Nickolay Lamm is a Pittsburgh-based artist and blogger who has used retouching and 3D printing to give Barbie a realistic shape and size. Lamm used measurements provided by the Center for Disease Control of the average 19 year-old American woman.

The shape and size difference between the regular Barbie and the realistic Barbie is quite noticeable. I have to say that myself being of shorter stature, I can identify more with the more realistic Barbie.

This artistic Barbie has a decent sized booty on her. She would look great in a pair of jeans with bedazzled pockets. I’m sure she would still be able to turn heads even with her non-super model figure.

I know Barbie is an American icon, but couldn’t Matel update her for today’s children? Wouldn’t it be nice if America’s favorite doll reflected real American girls? What could it hurt Matel to give it a try?

I don’t have girls, just boys, but if I had the choice to buy one of my nieces a realistic sized Barbie over a super model sized Barbie, I would purchase the realistic sized Barbie any day. I would want to give my nieces a doll that would make them feel good about themselves, not a doll that would set unrealistic expectations on how they should look.

I don’t think the makers of Barbie intend to put unrealistic expectations on America’s female youth, but I think they could do something about it. I hope Matel will consider making a few changes to Barbie after seeing Lamm’s more realistic version of her.

Joy Larson is a mother of four boys, graduate of the University of Montana, animal lover and writer.