Real-life Barbie: Looks Clearly Aren’t Everything

Growing up as a child we all had a favourite go-to-toy to play with.  Many girls loved to play with Barbie dolls – the dressing up, fake play dates with other Barbie dolls and role-playing with Barbie’s beau, Ken… who can forget those times? However, as we grew up so did our pastimes with Barbie. But what if some girls actually took the role of a Barbie doll seriously?

As mentioned in the news coverage, Ukrainian model, Valeria Lukyanova has the ability to transform into a real-life Barbie.  Although it may seem fascinating, Valeria brings about negative feedback and risks to the younger generations.

First, Valeria has emphasized that achieving her doll-like appearance is from the magic of makeup. As we all know, makeup is a necessity for many women. Even with minimal amount, makeup used on a daily basis puts a risk on skin health and increases the risk of cancer.  Articles have shown negative impacts chemicals within cosmetics are doing to the skin and the long-term effects from using them. These small risks may eventually add up as we grow older but as of now, I guess one could say that beauty is pain – there will always be a sacrifice to achieve the perfect image.

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk; Credited to: InsideEdition

Secondly, although plastic surgery was minimal for Valeria, she did say that she underwent breast augmentation. Her counterpart beau Ken, on the other hand seemed to heavily depend on this.  Justin Jedlica has stated in an interview that for him, it was all about plastic surgery. In either case, the risks of undergoing any type of cosmetic surgery come with consequences as the added chemicals and silicone will eventually take a toll. The worst thing however, is that patients can get addicted and insatiable. This will lead to higher chances for the individual to encounter the consequences.

Lastly, dieting is a major factor contributing to body appearance.  Valeria’s liquid diet and vigorous exercise may have resulted in Barbie doll measurements, but it is far from being healthy-looking. Girls and boys alike are under the pressure to fit into society’s skinny category. From this, many eating disorders arise such as anorexia and bulimia. In addition, the balance between dieting and exercise is abused in adolescents.  The growing bodies of young individuals should consist of a proper diet with enough nutrients and essential vitamins. One should not follow a diet plan of another just because of the result showcased from it.

(left) Source: Google images; Credited to: epSos.de
(right) Source: Google images; Credited to: Mark Sebastian

Overall, setting Barbie as a role model is quite far-fetched.  Despite the constant influence by others and the media, young individuals shouldn’t sway under such provocation. Valeria may have shown her mimicking abilities and found satisfaction for becoming a Barbie; however, girls should just take what they have for granted. It may be smart to start living healthy and tone up the body just for the sake of being healthy; there’s no need to go to extremes by molding oneself into an inanimate object in hopes of bringing it to life.

Posted by: Alice Koh