Living in a Barbie World

When my daughter Lauren was a little girl, I gave her a Ken and Barbie for Christmas, and she opened up the Ken doll before the Barbie and cried for hours. She was so angry about not getting Barbie, I couldn’t get her to open any of her other gifts.

Barbie was introduced just a few years after I was born and was all the craze for decades and still mesmerizes girls throughout the world. Part of her popularity was that it was the first doll that was not a baby. She was fashionable and worldly. Nowadays, she seems to be capable of every career, from Dr. Barbie to just plain Sit-There-And-Look-Pretty Barbie. She appears to be able to do it all. I will even admit – one of my favorite T-shirts donned the words, “I want to be like Barbie, the Bi*ch has everything.” In all seriousness, how realistic is Barbie? Especially when it comes to her bodily dimensions?

A new doll called Lammily challenges the Barbie role model and attempts to provide girls with a doll that has a more realistic figure that they can relate to, and find accessible in their lifetimes. I love this!

I think about all of my granddaughters, and how delicate their self esteem can be at a young age; I’m so thankful they have dolls like this today that will teach them they don’t have to look like Barbie to be beautiful. Luckily, many of my granddaughters weren’t as into the whole Barbie thing as my daughter’s generation. However, I’m still excited to see that there are some other options out there that challenge the message Barbie is sending, and help to teach self-love and self-acceptance. We are all unique and beautiful in our own way, and that’s something every child should grow up knowing, and carrying into their adult relationships.

You Might Also Like

One Comment

  1. Kathryn Howard

    I am very excited about this doll! As a mother of young girls I want them to be accepting of their bodies and present themselves with confidence!

Leave a Reply