Barbie Gets a Real-World Makeover
Artist Nickolay Lamm created a 3D doll-sized model of a healthy, average 19-year-old American woman, then made her up like Barbie
![Which Barbie would you buy?](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/58LhtnRvgV2iP3zWNk0bmnJwcsE=/1000x750/filters:no_upscale()/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/barbie-388.jpg)
What if Barbie looked like a real woman? Artist Nickolay Lamm answers this question with his latest work. He created a 3D Barbie-sized model of a healthy, average 19-year-old American woman, based upon data from measurements provided by the Centers for Disease Control. “The end result,” he writes, “is what Barbie would look like if she was a healthy, beautiful, 19 year old woman.”
Here’s Lamm on why he decided to undertake the project:
Some people say that we shouldn’t pay attention to the body proportions of Barbie because she is just a toy. On the surface, that sounds like a valid argument. But a closer look, through research, suggests that Barbie may lead to the following…
- Heightened body dissatisfaction among young girls
- Unhealthy eating behaviors
- A desire to achieve a slim body and therefore eat less
Here’s a selection of Lamm’s work, starting with Barbie versus the 3D real-world model:
![Barbie Gets a Real-World Makeover](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/BqQZYNxC05eOUIANAAIsW_tv_x8=/fit-in/1072x0/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/86/19/86192075-8633-4b5e-b748-b7a59e0dfaeb/5y15wkuuxahindndbcjxhofnbbnh_l15ydjubyz4-ealkfyvzr__cw-n4g9mykcsl0ro4siiih2y46wirnqyuy.jpeg)
![Barbie Gets a Real-World Makeover](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/4B60jtmXgQhD6Tt3pjRtziZSfiA=/fit-in/1072x0/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/ca/c4/cac41e9a-d53b-4a32-b871-80b502f4767b/0selngxfmfm_cqutvwe4ejjkwvn037ia0vx6wedqk0kbeyc2hbwqrsbeq9tfubljtjcixdthqdebb4wic9wr0.jpeg)
![Barbie Gets a Real-World Makeover](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/60i-cvZ5sYH04pTlpZdkXJmr1fI=/fit-in/1072x0/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/96/08/9608ebe1-772f-422d-a770-c570164149fa/ou4qchaupvhj3brbanpwng_2dgdwkjf72s4a7gfokliltfscoygnoumrslecv9ff1hvy3ywmosv2xurff3bixu.jpeg)
![Barbie Gets a Real-World Makeover](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/DFLSR5T-uKSaTLvEUitDeeHN4zM=/fit-in/1072x0/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/8a/bc/8abc1fcf-a142-4e71-b02d-7d772fdcb545/buwjndoc6y8eg2txjbfgj9mrhks0vtchhl-wuuc6rq80qs3syhfly7gh_0sxzolqrgtiqgh_ok8i6rbb7gt9yc.jpeg)
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