What Barbie Would Look Like If She Resembled an Actual Woman (PHOTOS)

[SoCalDem]

http://www.takepart.com/article/2013/07/03/barbie-nickolay-lamm?cmpid=tp-ad-outbrain-general

Artist Nickolay Lamm re-creates an American icon using real-world measurements.
July 4, 2013
Andri Antoniades


Barbie never claimed to be a symbol of feminist solidarity, or even a symbol of reality. It’s already been proven that her oddly proportioned body couldn’t possibly be sustained by an actual human being—and yet her appearance remains an iconic symbol of femininity that millions of girls admire.

That may not change any time soon, but some artists are doing their best to demonstrate that realistic images can be just as desirable as ones based on pure fantasy. Artist Nickolay Lamm recently decided to give Barbie the ultimate makeover by changing her appearance into one that resembled an actual human being.

Using CDC measurements of the average American 19-year-old woman, Lamm redesigned and 3-D printed America’s most iconic doll. The new Barbie is noticeably shorter and wider than her earlier version, and even her feet have evolved from miniatures frozen in a high-heel position to a proportioned pair that can stand on flat ground.

....................snip....click link for the other pictures

[LuvNewcastle]

1. I hope it sells.

If I had a daughter, I don't think I would want to buy her an anorexic Barbie. Maybe I'm making a big deal out of nothing, but a lot of people see Barbie as an ideal of feminine beauty. Why give your kids toys that show them an unattainable ideal?

[Shadowflash]

4. Why give your kids toys that show them an unattainable ideal?

The same reason you get Superman, Batman or GI Joe action figures, with unrealistic male proportions, for the boys to play with.

Fantasy figures have always been more perfect than regular people. You just need to teach your kids what's right.

[LuvNewcastle]

5. You have a point, but I've never thought of Barbie

as a fantasy figure. Maybe others do; I don't know. I've always thought she was supposed to be a glamorous woman, like a movie star. Lots of kids want to grow up to be movie stars. Their chances of becoming one are slim, but it is attainable. Unless a boy is very young, he knows he can't grow up to be Superman. Barbie's dimensions are so out of whack that a woman would have to starve herself and get loads of plastic surgery to look like that. A woman can be healthy and be a movie star; becoming Barbie wouldn't be healthy at all.

I don't know if we'll ever agree about this, but I think Barbie sets a bad example for girls. If I had a daughter, it would be in the back of my mind if she wanted that toy. I would probably still buy it for her if she wanted it badly enough, but I would have a talk with her about it. I just don't know how much of my talk would be understood by a little girl.

[SoCalDem]

14. My son buried his GI Joe

The neighborhood boys had a "war" and Mike's GI Joe was "killed in the war"..

We "rescued him", but steered them away from those toys soon after... the neighborhood boys discovered soccer..much better use of their time

They still built roads in the yard and tracked iridescent-blue lizards (too fast for the boys, fortunately)

and of course, they road bikes & skateboarded until we tracked them down & dragged them home for dinner..

[Orrex]

6. If it sells...

The creator should brace for an enormous lawsuit by Mattel.

[mythology]

2. That's pretty cool

Thanks for sharing it.

[leftyohiolib]

3. meh plastic fake non-real life dolls dont need to look like real life --

[SoCalDem]

7. and toy cars don't have to look like real cars?

stuffed animals don't have to look like the animals they portray?

TOYS are usually designed to specifically look like something a child likes or to portray a "slice of life" they may aspire to be part of someday..

[Phentex]

8. But they don't have to...

My kids played with Rescue Heroes and they didn't look like real people. Lego people are fun to play with and you don't expect a kid to want to look like one. I have Kermit toys that don't look like real frogs and I still love them.

Not every girl who plays with Barbie wants to look like Barbie. They just enjoy her clothes!

[SoCalDem]

9. I had boys, so luckily I did not have to do the doll thing..

we were awash in trucks, legos etc (never a gun)

[Phentex]

11. Mine had spy barbie and g.i. Joe...

And tonka trucks and a kitchen play set. I only have boys, teens now, and the legos haven't gone away!

[leftyohiolib]

10. portray a "slice of life" they may aspire to be part of someday.. that's psyho-babble wrongly

interjected by adults fishing for easy solutions to something they dont understand. they play with barbies cause they are on the shelf to be bought and played with.

[SoCalDem]

12. little boys love their fire trucks & police cars

and often do want to become cops & firemen

Play is all about mimicry and preparation

no matter what..little girls grow up to become women (women who are and who do many things)

little boys grow up to become men (unless they meet up with a Zimmerman)