Spoiler alert: He doesn’t have dad bod!
Nickolay Lamm, the man behind the original “realistic Barbie” is back at it again, this time with a realistic Ken doll. Although not manufactured under Mattel’s Barbie line, Boy Lammily joins the ever-increasing production of children’s dolls with realistic features. The original Lammily doll used CDC data of the average 19-year-old woman to create a realistic-looking Barbie doll. After crowdfunding the production of the doll, realistic Barbie entered at least 20,000 homes across the world.
Boys Join the Lammily Family
Boy Lammily is the male version of the original Lammily doll, or the “average-looking girl,” according to the doll’s creator. Like his female counterpart, the realistic boy doll is modeled after the average 19-year-old man. Data for the doll’s dimensions was collected by Dr. Matthew Reed at the University of Michigan.
According to the Lammily website, Boy Lammily:
- Promotes a healthy body image
- Redefines what it means to be manly
- Is fun
- Is ready for production
Once Boy Lammily raises enough financial backing, he will be ready for production. He includes a storybook pamphlet describing his background and an online passport to name the doll.
Unheard: Boys Need Body Positive Role Models, Too
Body issues in toy manufacturing is not just a women’s only issue anymore. Although women account for the highest number of eating disorder diagnoses, men are more commonly being diagnosed and treated for anorexia nervosa, bulimia, binge eating disorder, and EDNOS/OSFED.
There’s a strong sociopolitical rhetoric behind the creation of the Boy Lammily. Part of the Lammily goal is to increase the awareness surrounding the unrealistic proportions of children’s toys. Adding in a Boy Lammily is just another step towards raising social consciousness.
Men face a plethora of body and self-esteem issues, and many of these issues start at a young age. With the overwhelming amount of media children consumes on a daily basis, the most common representations of men seem to be on a spectrum of comic book super heroes, famous athletes, and models — none of whom seem to have a traditional or average body shape and size.
Lammily supports the notion that boys don’t have to have a six-pack in order to be likable. Nor do they need big biceps. Instead, boys can be funny and smart, and still be cool and beautiful.
You can back the Lammily family and reserve your own realistic Ken doll here.
Screengrab via: YouTube
