As of this morning, artist's vision of a mass-marketed Barbie based on actual proportions goes from a dream to a reality.
Nickolay Lamm, a visual artist and graphic designer has gotten a lot of people's attention, and money, this morning for his crowdfunded project.
"I try to make visuals which point out things which I feel are overlooked," Lamm says on the site. "Virality is just a side effect."
In one of his latest ventures, he has hit both marks. When he came up with 'Barbie' type dolls based on real-life proportions of a typical 19-year-old woman last summer, he received wide-spread attention from parents and the media. Many people wanted to find out where they could buy the dolls for their kids.
Lamm turned to crowdfunding and started raising money to manufacture the doll himself. People from around the world have now given him enough money to start manufacturing the "normal barbies.'
"A lot of people asked where they could buy normal Barbie," Lamm told Time in a recent interview. "But no one could buy it because it didn't exist."
Lamm's great idea didn't come from him pointing out that Barbies are disproportioned, unrealistic representations of women, but came in producing the image of a mass marketed Barbie doll standing next to one of his "normal barbies".
As Christians, we learn that God finds inner beauty so valuable, and recommends we be more worried about the inside rather than the outside. But we are also humans, and we feel the pressure to fit an image that is brought on by false ideals and images like Barbie represents.
If people putting money up to fund his line is an indication, then other people see the value in more realistic images of women, as well. A campaign to mass produce the doll, named "Lammily" by the artist, has, as of this morning, already met its goal of $95,000 on its Crowdtilt fundraising site project.
The doll is a brunette and wears very little make-up. Her proportions are based on an average 19 year old American woman's body that the artist got from the Center for Disease Control. She will feature accessories like sensible shoes and sneakers, and promote a healthy lifestyle.
Maybe this type of new depiction of women will lead more girls to devote themselves to the words Peter penned many years ago,
1 Peter 3:3 Do not let your adorning be external-the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear- but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.
The tagline for the project is, "Average is Beautiful," and promotes beauty found in all women, not just the skinny and glamorous.
Hopefully it will lead more women to see themselves the way the Lord sees them, and appreciate their unique beauty the way He does.
