Clinton, NY April 15, 2011
The Today show assigned us to cover an very interesting story about Hamilton College student Galia Slayen and her “Human sized Barbie doll”. Galia overcame a personal battle with anorexia when she was a teenager. At age 16, she created the Life-sized Barbie as a high school project. She hoped to raise awareness of eating disorders and how the Barbie doll has encouraged young girls to emulate an unrealistic body image. Galia built her Barbie doll to the exact proportions to a human (the head is not proportional…she said she used a Mattel toy head because she could not sculpt) The important emphasis was the bust, waist, and hips…which are in exact proportion to the 12″ doll.
Galia hopes the doll will be used at Hamilton college to further the discussion of eating disorders in woman’s lives.