Barbie has it all: She’s always happy, dates hunky Ken, and manages to excel in about 349 different jobs (cheerleader, astronaut, president, etc.). But what if Barbie were a real person? Would we actually want to be her?
Well, in 2007, high school student Galia Slayen built a life-sized Barbie doll as part of National Eating Disorder Awareness Week. Depicting Barbie’s actual body shape as if she were a real person, the model (pictured with Galia) stands around six feet tall, and her measurements are 39-18-33. Suffice it to say — Barbie looks a bit freaky.
Galia, who battled an eating disorder, made this model in order to show her peers the effects and importance of body image issues, and as a way to broach and discuss these subjects. Now 20 and a sophomore at Hamilton College, Barbie has traveled with her to school and still making an impact on her peers.
Moral of the story: Barbie isn’t perfect, and I definitely don’t want to look like her… but I will take her Dream House.
Watch an interview with Galia on the Today Show.
