I’m attending a baby shower in a few days and instead of gifting the new mom with the handprint kit that I already bought, I’m thinking of getting her a Lammily doll instead. It’s a new anti-Barbie doll of American-size proportions (translation: not pin-thin) that can be accessorized with stretch marks, scars, cellulite, moles, and tattoos. It has the potential to be a great gag gift for a grown woman who knows precisely how her reflection in the mirror differs from that of a Barbie doll — and is willing to laugh about it.
It remains to be seen if I’d give a Lammily doll to anyone who’d actually play with it, though, such as my daughters, ages three and six. I don’t disagree that there could stand to be more Barbie alternatives in toy stores. I’d be tickled to see more dolls of color and varying body types, not to mention less-than-perfect features, for instance.
“I remember shopping for a doll to buy for my niece,” Nickolay Lamm, an artist who created Lammily, told ABC News. “I noticed the dolls looked very supermodel-y, not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I figured if dolls looked like real people then wouldn’t kids have more self-confidence?”
If there’s a correlation between Barbie and self-confidence, in either direction, it is somewhat lost on me. My kids play with dolls (usually ones fashioned after their favorite characters) and I’ve never seen either of them lament their own bodies because they lack Elsa’s tiny waist or Cinderella’s ample breasts. They enjoy dressing up as Doc McStuffins just as much as Rapunzel.
Of course with blonde hair and green and brown eyes, my daughters don’t have to look too far to find any doll with whom they share some resemblance. I can imagine if they were more chubby than trim or didn’t see people with the same skin tone every day that it might be nice to play with dolls with which they have something in common in the looks department.
But Lamm thinks Barbie might take away a girl’s self-confidence, and I wonder how being in possession of a less attractive doll would add to it? I can see looking up to Presidential Barbie or other imaginary characters with real (fake) accomplishments. But why are stretch marks and zits on a doll doing anything for how our daughters feel about themselves? Surely they already know that no humans look like Barbies. They see humans each and every day who look, well, human. Let them play with dolls who look more like them? Yes. Count on those dolls to bring something meaningful to their life? No.
Lammily would surely be a welcome addition to the toy chest of most any child, although it would seem that relying on it for anything other than a doll is about as useful as playing with Barbie. While diversity in the playroom is undoubtedly a good thing, the day we start looking to a plain-Jane doll to boost our self-esteem just because she’s not drop-dead gorgeous is the day we might consider taking up an activity with some deeper meaning — that doesn’t include dolls.
Image via Lammily.com