Barbie has been an iconic part of most young girls’ upbringing. Her “perfect body” has been obsessed over by many, even to the extent of girls trying to look like her. Who wouldn’t want to be Barbie? She is beautiful, has an amazing body, is dating Ken, and has gorgeous friends. The problem is that she is just a doll and “the way she is right now, the representation that’s given to young girls, is not real” (Slayen).
With our societies distorted view of body image, Barbie certainly doesn’t help girls have a reality of what a body should look like. Galia Slayen, a student at Hamilton College, decided to create a life-size Barbie to show what she would look like if she were real. As many could guess her proportions are impossible, with a 39” bust, an 18” waist, and 33” hips, there is no way that anyone could ever look like Barbie.
This project was also personal to Slayen because she suffered from an eating disorder and wants “the doll to spark a conversation about the way certain images affect young girls”. With the creation of dolls yearly, along with websites promoting and giving tips on how to achieve eating disorders, it definitely is difficult for young girls to not be affected by social media. That being said, this project should show that Barbie is not real and neither would her proportions be if she were real.