This is a wonderful idea to send a very important message ~ I hope it makes a difference ~ we'll see ~ Sooz

Meet the ‘Anti‑Barbie’: Brunette doll representing ‘a normal person’ to be sold in U.S.
Agence France-Presse | 21 Nov 2014 at 21:17 ET

She’s short, brunette, has an average body shape and can even be given cellulite and acne: the ‘anti-Barbie’ doll is ready to go on sale in the United States.

The brainchild of 26-year-old graphic designer Nickolay Lamm, the “Lammily” doll will begin shipping next week with the sales pitch that “average is beautiful.”

Lamm told AFP he came up with the idea after searching for a doll to buy as a gift and discovering that “all the dolls looked like supermodels.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being a supermodel but I just had the impression that the wall of supermodels suggests that something is wrong with you if you don’t look like one,” Lamm explained.

“I created an alternative to suggest that it’s okay to not look like a supermodel, it’s okay to look like a normal person.”

Lamm based the physique of his doll from statistics provided by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), calculating that the “average” 19-year-old was five feet, four inches (163.3 centimeters) tall, weighed 150 pounds (68 kilograms) and measured 33.5 inches (85 centimeters) around the chest.

He contrasted those vital statistics to a Barbie, which is skinnier, taller and more blonde.

Lamm raised money for mass production of his doll by crowdfunding. So far, he has received some $225,000 worth of advance orders for the doll, which will sell at $25.

Starting in January, a clothing line will be available as well as stickers depicting acne or cellulite.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/11/meet-the-anti%e2%80%91barbie-brunette-doll-representing-a-normal-person-to-be-sold-in-u-s/

The brainchild of 26-year-old graphic designer Nickolay Lamm, the “Lammily” doll will begin shipping next week with the sales pitch that “average is beautiful.”

Why not Aunty Barbie?

That is awesome. I just hope it sells. It will have to be marketed carefully, to be attractive to children. If they just market her as a smaller uglier version of Barbie, the kids will hate her for the same reasons they sometimes hate themselves.

"Aunty" doesn't send the same subliminal message to either children or parents, oskar ~ "anti" fits snugly into the widening awareness of the inherent problems in the "beauty is all" message ~

Sooz

Good points, greeny ~ young kidlets' psyches are mostly malleable and I'm not sure we fully understand how they process information ~ I also find it interesting that the idea comes from a male ~

Sooz

I posted about this a long time ago when they were trying to get "crowd-funded". I watched a neat video a few days ago of testing involving young girls and (I think) one boy. They all loved the doll.

When given both a Barbie and a Lammily, they were asked what kind of jobs they might have. Barbie: model, cosmetic sales etc. Lammily: scientist, computer tech. etc.

When asked which one was most like them or the people they know, they picked Lammily. One little girl said "She looks like my sister!".

When asked which doll they liked the most, they picked Lammily.

Kids are much perceptive than we think.

Here's the video:

kids are f(*king awesome. maybe we should change the election laws so they can run the country.