Jul.3, 2013

Barbie doll has been around for 54 years. For years, the body proportions of Barbie have been criticized for not being realistic. Some argue her body shape would be unobtainable and unsustainable if scaled up to life-size. What would she look like if she is a "real woman"? illustrator Nickolay Lamm wants to answer this question with a Barbie toy based on what she would look like if she had normal measurements.

"Some people say that we shouldn't pay attention to the body proportions of Barbie because she is just a toy," wrote Lamm. "On the surface, that sounds like a valid argument. But a closer look, through research, suggests that Barbie may lead to (raising rates in body dissatisfaction among young girls and unhealthy eating behaviors)."

In order for an average woman to look like Barbie, she would have measurements of an 18" waist, 33" hips and a 36" bust. Lamm used CDC (Centres for Disease Control and Prevention) measurements of an average 19-year-old woman to create a 3D model and then printed out a model of a "normal" woman, a girl with 31" waist, 33" hips and a 32" bust.

The end result - the white model - is what Barbie would look like if she was a healthy, beautiful, 19 year old woman.

So, should Barbie dolls keep the way she is, or have a realistic body proportions as in the photos? Barbie's maker, Mattel, says it has never scaled her vital statistics to real-life dimensions. Yes, Barbie is not a real woman.....she is just a doll.



Posted in 3D Printing Applications

 

 

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Konstantin wrote at 11/23/2014 3:22:55 PM:

The average girl from nowadays has overweight -> Sad bad true. The doll doesn't need to present average measurements to be realistic. Well, 18" waist is too thin but 31 isn't slim at all for a young woman (compared with bust and hip). Yes! there are people that have the +20% length of legs. Many things the kids play with have proportions much less realistic, e.g. comics with super big heads....

... wrote at 3/26/2014 1:17:20 PM:

Helooooooo @poop

poop wrote at 3/19/2014 8:12:20 PM:

heloo

J.S wrote at 10/30/2013 7:16:37 PM:

I'm an artist specializing in th human figure, and the 'real' doll is very similar to a very slim model of mine who is in the military. I'm impressed with the measurements, though the unreListic doll next to it makes it look squatty, when I put my finger over barbie, the real proportion model is very appealing.

Lorrie H. wrote at 10/15/2013 5:32:55 PM:

What 19 year old has measurements like a square? 32-31-33? I don't know many teenagers built that way... maybe women in their 30's, but not 19 year olds. When I was 19, I was more like 34-24-36. So they still didn't use a "realistic" woman's measurement. This experiment was purposely slanted to make the "real" doll look short and squatty. What little girl wants a doll that looks like that?

mo wrote at 7/4/2013 10:46:49 PM:

seems strange she's only about 6 heads high

Mo wrote at 7/4/2013 10:45:57 PM:

seems strange she's only about 6 heads high

Wes wrote at 7/4/2013 4:13:30 PM:

Almost looks like they decided to make their version after Hayden Panettiere



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