Barbies have been a center of accusation for being unrealistic models, often labeled as thin or “perfect.” For young girls, they may be fun to play with, but they can be a bad example for what to look like in the future. According to the Information Liberation website, a study found that the Barbie dolls, which are far thinner than traditional shapes, particularly at the waist, make girls want to be unrealistically slim when they grow up.

Nevertheless, a solution to the unrealistic Barbie dolls has appeared, and her name is Lammily. According to a recent article on Yahoo News, Nikolay Lamm’s long-awaited “Normal Barbies” are finally available for pre-order. The doll has the body of the average ninteen-year old American teenager with acne, cellulite and stretch marks. According to the same Yahoo article, Lammily has been tested in Target and most people had positive comments, despite the comments that nobody would buy this sort of Barbie doll when it was first launched. Buyers can pre-order a sticker package that allows owners to add and remove “marks”that  include freckles, glasses and more.

Lammily seems to be a great way for kids to have a playful doll, yet not have a doll that serves as an example of “perfect” and “abnormally thin.” Although some extents of the doll are not as attractive — for example, I personally found the acne to be a bit too much and not approachably nice looking — most features seem to be a normal extension to the doll. The other “marks” on the Barbie include freckles, glasses, blushing, adhesive bandages, temporary tattoo, stitches and more. They are a nice option for the doll — as they are removable stickers. The child can choose to place the stickers as they please.

Despite what we have seen for generations, Barbie dolls are finally coming to a realistic point and this could be the start of realistic approaches for other things.

I would like to see this as a start for possibly changing up magazine covers or runway models, and making the average teenager or adult feel comfortable in their own skin. After all, a doll should be purchased to be held as a child’s companion, and if that doll resembles realistic human beings it is a better example for the child. The  child will look at the new doll and say, “This reminds me of my sister or cousin,” instead of looking at the Barbie dolls we are used to, and saying “I wish I could look this nice or be this thin.” This gives the child a more realistic approach of what they will look like when they are older.