Now Trending: Introducing ‘normal Barbie’ (with real female proportions - and cellulite)

Now Trending: Introducing ‘normal Barbie’ (with real female proportions - and cellulite)

ANDREW RYAN

The Globe and Mail

Last updated Thursday, Nov. 20 2014, 3:14 PM EST

  

Lammily doll (YouTube)

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REALITY CHECK

Sorry, Barbie, but it’s time to get real.

Just in time for holiday shopping, Time magazine reports on the release of a brand-new doll – named Lammily – modeled in the likeness of a real human female.

According to researchers, if the average Barbie doll were an actual woman, she’d have to walk on all fours (because of her extra-tiny feet) and would be incapable of lifting her own head (due to her abnormally long and thin neck).

But not so with Lammily, which was conceived by graphic designer Nickolay Lamm. The new doll is modeled on the proportions of a typical 19-year-old woman (based on current U.S. Centers for Disease Control data).

“I wanted to show that reality is cool,” said Lamm in the Time interview. “And a lot of toys make kids go into fantasy, but why don’t they show that real life is cool?”

Lamm introduced the Lammily as an art project last year and launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise $95,000 (U.S.) to start producing the dolls for retail consumption.

“Parents and their kids were emailing and asking where they could buy the ‘normal Barbie’,” he told Time.

Lamm’s crowdfunding campaign eventually raised $501,000 (U.S.) to create the dolls, which became available for purchase and delivery this week through his web site.

The doll retails for $24.99 (U.S.), with the first 19,000 being shipped directly to backers. Lamm promises that 25,000 more Lammily dolls will ready in time to be shipped before the holidays.

In support of the doll’s release, Lamm also created a video comparing the drastic physical differences between Lammily and Barbie.

And just like Barbie, Lammily owners will be able to purchase accessories – except the Lammily extras are steeped in reality.

Starting in January, Lammily owners will be able to order a sticker-extension pack that will allow the user to affix acne, freckles and moles to the doll’s face, and even make her blush. The sticker pack also includes scrapes, bruises, scars and stretch marks and cellulite.

When asked about the potential for controversy in releasing a doll with stretch marks, Lamm suggested some owners will actually welcome the option.

Lamm expects to make other fashion choices for the Lammily available in the near future. “This is the doll people have been waiting for,” he said.

In other doll-related news, USA Today reports on the public apology issued by Mattel this week for making Barbie look like a dizzy blonde in a book.

Originally published by Random House, the book titled Barbie: I Can Be a Computer Engineer depicts Barbie conceptualizing a computer game involving a robot puppy, but then enlisting the assistance of male programmers to actually build the game.

"I'm only creating the design ideas," Barbie tells her sister Skipper in the book. "I'll need Steven's and Brian's help to turn it into a real game!"

The book was lampooned in various media outlets and on Twitter.

On Wednesday, Mattel executive Lori Pantel told Time that the book was originally published in 2010 and that “since that time we have reworked our Barbie books.”