Body image: Imagine Barbie with actual human proportions

Barbie’s got a bad reputation when it comes to promoting a healthy body image in young girls ‘ and it’s not for no reason. If Barbie were a real person her measurements would mean she would weigh about 110 lbs and have an unhealthy BMI of 16.24.

Rather than showing Barbie blown up to human size, one artist is showing what the iconic doll would look like if she had the body of the average 19-year-old girl. Nickolay Lamm used measurements he reportedly obtained from the Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) to create a 3-D model, which he then photographed next to a standard Barbie doll. He also used Photoshop to make the 3-D model look like Barbie. Check out the results:

According to Lamm’s research, Barbie’s measurements are 36-18-33, compared to the average 19-year-old girl’s measurements of 32-31-33.

"People argue that a toy can’t do any harm," he said when speaking about his work. “However, if we criticize skinny models, we should at least be open to the possibility that Barbie may negatively influence young girls as well.

"Futhermore, a realistically proportioned Barbie actually looks pretty good in the pictures I produced," he said.

I agree. The realistic Barbie has a much nicer butt and some healthy muscle definition. And yet she still looks thin. (The average American women is reported to be a size 12-16; this new Barbie still looks smaller than that, in my opinion.)

Do you think Barbie should be reproduced with more realistic and healthy body proportions?

Related:
‘ 6 reasons to love your body
‘ Quiz: Do you have a healthy body image?
‘ Do magazines influence body image?