An artist just unveiled his vision of what a “normal” Barbie should look like, based on the measurements of real-life women.
Demi Lovato‘s wish came true!
The actress and X Factor judge recently called on her followers to petition Mattel to introduce a Barbie with her “actual body type.. Weight & height,” instead of the long and (seriously) lean toy doll we grew up with.
“Also, Barbie should make dolls with cellulite!!! Hahaha!!! After all, around 95% of ALL women have it!!!”
And it happened — it’s just not by Mattel.
“Some people say that we shouldn’t pay attention to the body proportions of Barbie because she is just a toy,” Nickolay Lamm wrote in a post on MyDeals.com. “On the surface, that sounds like a valid argument. But a closer look, through research, suggests that Barbie may lead to the following… heightened body dissatisfaction among young girls, unhealthy eating behaviors and a desire to achieve a slim body and therefore eat less.”
Lamm used measurements that “closely match up… with CDC measurements of the average 19-year-old woman in America” to create a new Barbie prototype — dubbed “normal” Barbie.
“The end result is what Barbie would look like if she was a healthy, beautiful, 19-year-old woman,” Lamm wrote.
We have to agree: “Normal” Barbie is both healthy and adorable — and the response has been relatively positive.
“This is a very pretty, well-proportioned toy,” Dulcinea Jones commented. “She looks like she really could go to college, play sports, build a house or be a scientist. Love her! Does you good to see something like this and helps us to calibrate our perceptions of what is real, healthy and fun. Great job! Let’s make a ‘Ken’ to match!”
“I have just shown the last picture to my 3-year-old daughter and asked which she would rather have between the two dolls,” another commenter wrote. “She immediately pointed to classic Barbie, but when I asked who [she thought] was the nicest and prettiest of the two she points to normal Barbie.”
As for how Lovato feels about the new doll?
“Can I also say, that… That new @barbie’s got BACK!!!!!” she tweeted.
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