Realistic 'Barbie' resembles average woman

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- An artist is taking on Barbie. He took the measurements of an average 19-year-old American woman and made images of a doll with those measurements.

"I wanted to essentially show that average is beautiful," said artist Nickolay Lamm.

The 27-year-old Pittsburgh-based artist says he wants to help young girls and even grown women whose self images may have been negatively impacted by Barbie's unrealistic measurements.

"Even if I made 100 girls or women feel better about themselves, that's all I need to be happy with the project," said Lamm.

Lamm isn't alone in his concerns and he's not the first to suggest Barbie is too perfect.

"I think that the new rendition looks more athletic and definitely more healthy," said Emma Lux of Burbank.

Others say self-esteem and positive body image doesn't come from any doll or toy, so you can't blame a doll even if she does look great in every outfit she wears.

Meantime, Mattel, who manufactures Barbie released a statement, saying, "Girls understand that Barbie is a doll. She was never modeled on the proportions of a real person, rather her design is optimized for play, allowing girls with small hands to easily change her look and allow for creative and imaginative role play."

Still, Lamm would like to see his version of what he calls a more "real" Barbie available to young girls.

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