Life size Barbie... Holy Cow!!!

Having spent my entire life on the little bit bigger end of the size continuum, I've always felt the need to be realistic about my weight and size expectations. Yes, I do want to be healthy and yes, I do need to lose weight... but it's not my personal goal to be 5'4" and 110 pounds. I just know that's not realistic for me. I try to encourage the same kind of mind set in others as well. Yes, lose weight if you genuinely need to. Yes, by all means be the healthiest person you can be, but don't live your life according to fashion industry standards. That's a sure fire way to end up feeling really crappy about yourself.

Anyway, when I saw this article today it piqued my interest... and then when I saw the picture, I knew I had to share... Do I think that Barbie is to blame for my self-image struggles? Probably not, but then, who knows what sneaks into our psyches and stealthily seats itself there waiting for the moment to blossom forth as a full blown neurosis??? So, I present this image and the accompanying article from the NBC Today Show merely as food for thought (There's a video toward the bottom of the page if you're interested as well).

Galia Slayen made a Barbie doll that stands about 6 feet tall with a 39" bust, 18" waist, and 33" hips.

I have some super hard-core feminist friends who would love nothing more than to burn every Barbie ever made. And although I'm not in that camp, I can't exactly say that I'm Barbie's biggest fan either. Yes, I did have Barbies as a kid and yes, I did play with them, but they were only a small part of my total experience as a kid. Hopefully, we can teach the current generation of kids to be healthier in body and mind... and maybe accept Barbie with a (huge) grain of salt.