We all grew up in the era of Bratz and Barbie dolls falling off the shelves of toy stores across America. We also have grown up in one of the worst eras in history for women's body image. The media influences young girls to have a slim waist, the notorious "thigh gap," and increasingly perfect features. In order to combat the negative self image that young girls are creating for themselves, Nickolay Lamm invented Lammily dolls. This new brand of dolls is unlike Bratz and Barbie dolls, because it models the build of an average female body, instead of an unattainable one.
The first edition Lammily doll is presented as "fit and strong" featuring brown hair and very little makeup. She is equipped with jointed wrists, elbows, knees, and ankles, enabling her to wear either regular shoes or high heels. The doll, if a real human, would stand at 5 foot 4 inches, with a 31 inch waist, 33 inch hip measurement, and a size 7.5 shoe, in comparison to a Barbie doll that, if human, which would stand at 5'9, have a 18 inch waist, 33 inch hip measurement, and a size 3 shoe. Although Barbie is one of the most popular fashion dolls worldwide, her actual human counterpart would be anorexic, unable to lift her head, unable to menstruate, only have room for half of a liver and a few inches of intestines, and have to walk on four legs to support the top-heavy weight distribution of her body.
The Lammily doll is completely realistic interpretation of a real human woman's functioning and healthy body. The early embedding of this idea in the minds of young girls could very much influence the foundations of their body image expectations as they begin to experience puberty and hormonal changes in adolescence.
In regards to puberty, a large portion of the controversy surrounding the Lammily doll is that the doll comes packaged with 19 bright and colorful pads. The purpose of this inclusion is to get parents and kids more\ able and equipped to talk about impending changes in the female body. It also gives the talk a little less pressure, considering it is being presented to young girls as something that should be fun and celebrated, and not something to be ashamed of. Also available to customers is a sticker extension pack, which includes materials that give the doll's face acne, freckles, moles, and the ability to blush. Demi Lovato tweeted about the doll's sticker package, which includes stretch marks and cellulite, saying:
Lamm also decided to include bruises and scrapes, despite a lot of talk claiming it to be a promotion of domestic violence. Lamm combated this talk with the reiteration of her desire for the dolls to be as realistic as possible; including the fact that we all fall, scrape our arms, and bump our knees, and that should be recognized as well.
With all of the doll's interesting and innovative inclusion packages, its hard to call Lammily anything but an innovative genius. This new line of dolls has the power to positively influence young girls everywhere. If all of the evidence above has not yet swayed you into being on Team Lammily, this video created by the dolls' inventor of second grader's reaction to Lammily and the fashion dolls surely will.
"Average is beautiful" appears to be the perfect slogan for Lammily, and should be for every young girl playing with her.
