Realistic dolls

Recently Buzzfeed posted this piece about the Lammily doll, a realistically proportioned doll that’s recently entered the market. This doll presents a stark contrast to the traditional Barbie – Lammily isn’t stick thin, has greater movement, has flat feet (rather than those shaped for high heels) and doesn’t seem to be wearing makeup. It is, as the website states ‘realistic’ in many ways. Which, obviously, is extremely important in today’s age where young girls are bombarded by messages telling them to be thinner, more feminine, more placid. And while the Lammily doll is an excellent toy to show girls they don’t have to listen to these messages, it still fails to combat one of the most pervasive and damaging beauty ideals – that of whiteness. Idealisation of white skin has been a symptom of European beauty standards – forced onto the rest of the world – that has been supported for centuries and continues to be today. This video of the ‘doll test’ with young children demonstrates the depth to which the pro-white and anti-black sentiments in society and the beauty industry effect children’s perceptions of beauty and character based on skin colour. With this still being so prevalent today and the devastating effects this kind of society hatred of darker skin has on PoC, it’s clear Lammily dolls are not yet tackling the most important parts of beauty ideals. Lammily’s website says dolls of different races are coming next year, but I think the fact that they started out with a white doll speaks volumes of what society values.