Meet Lammily, an average 19-year-old girl – in the form of a doll – who is challenging the conventions of the toy industry just in time for Christmas.
“I was shopping for a doll for a family friend when I noticed that a lot of the dolls looked like supermodels,” said Nickolay Lamm, the American creator of the doll, in an email. “There’s nothing wrong with looking like a supermodel, but I feel if there were also dolls which looked like typical people, as well, then it would be as if the wall of toys (were) saying, ‘It’s OK to look like a supermodel and it’s OK to look like a typical person.”
Scaled up to human size, the Lammily doll features the average proportions of a 19-year-old girl as measured by the American Center for Disease Control.
She would have a 31-inch waist, 33-inch hips and a 32-inch bust compared to the measurements of Barbie, who has an 18-inch waist, 33-inch hips and a 36-inch bust.
The Lammily doll also has brown hair, minimal make up and is designed with hinged wrists, knees, elbows and feet, which allow her to stand up normally, as opposed to Barbie’s permanent “wearing invisible heels” posture.
The doll can currently be purchased online for $25 each – an extra $7.95 for shipping and handling to Ottawa – but Lamm says he hopes to have the doll and her accessories available in retail stores in the near future.
Mrs. Tiggy Winkle’s, an Ottawa-based chain of toy stores specializing in toys with “both play and educational value,” says this is exactly the kind of product they endorse.
“We don’t carry Barbie dolls, but we do already carry a doll called the Lottie doll. The brand is marketed towards mirroring the body shapes of young girls,” says Christina Parsons, an employee at Mrs. Tiggy Winkle’s. ‘On the case the doll claims to be a positive role model and it has won awards for that. That’s why we sell it.”
Not everyone is convinced that the Lammily doll is going to be the catalyst that cures body-esteem challenges for young girls.
“I’m not sure how much of an impact it’s going to make. It is certainly not a bad step forward, but whether little girls grow up to be worried about their shape because they play with Barbie dolls, I’m not so sure,” says Anne Bowker, a professor of psychology at Carleton University researching adolescent self and body esteem.
And as if Lammily isn’t realistic enough already, there is also a sticker pack available to customize her with tattoos, scars, freckles, cuts and bruises, flushed cheeks and even stretch marks and cellulite.
“It seems ridiculous. They’re toys. They’re not supposed to necessarily be realistic. Do little girls need to learn about stretch marks? I don’t think so,” says Bowker.