Seasons of Grace
Just in time for Christmas: The “Lammily” doll, a doll that is short, brunette, has an average body shape and can, if you prefer, come complete with acne or cellulite.
Parents and other concerned adults have long criticized the long, lanky Barbie for her unrealistic proportions. Now a 26-year-old graphic designer, Nickolay Lamm, has developed a doll that won’t set young girls on the path to anorexia by teaching them that “ultra-thin” is the only acceptable body type.
Lamm created his prototype doll after searching for a doll for a gift and finding that all the dolls on the store shelves looked like supermodels. “There’s nothing wrong with being a supermodel,” Lamm said,
“…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. 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.”
In designing his “average” doll, Lamm consulted statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control which showed that the average 19-year-old was five feet, four inches tall, weighed 150 pounds, and measured 33 1/2 inches around the chest.
The Lammily doll is available for $25, which includes one 11″ doll with ombre blouse, denim shorts, and white sneakers. There are also clothing and accessory sets in production; but those will not ship until January 18–too late for tucking under the Christmas tree, but a gift certificate would give children a reason to watch their mailbox!
To gauge children’s reactions to the doll, Lamm took his dolls to St. Edmund’s Academy, an independent school in Pittsburgh, where second graders were asked to compare Barbie with the Lammily doll. Here is a brief video which makes it pretty clear which doll the children preferred.
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