Product Code Database
Lammily is an American fashion doll developed by Nickolay Lamm in 2014. The doll was conceived as an "average" alternative to Mattel's Barbie line, which has received controversy over its body image and proportions. Lamm created the toy using proportions of the average 19-year-old woman as indicated by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) (Petri). The name "Lammily" was formed by combining his last name and "family".Preston-Sidler, Leandra A. Watch Me Disappear: Gendered Bodies, Pro-anorexia, and Self-injury in Virtual Communities. Diss. University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida, 2015.
A boy Lammily doll was crowdfunded in 2016, and a Lammily wheelchair is now in development after a successful kickstarter campaign.
Backers of the crowdfunded campaign were given the opportunity to pre-order the doll prior to general release. The doll officially launched at the end of November 2014. Three Lammily dolls are now available: a white female doll, a black female doll, and a white male doll. The 'boy Lammily' doll was released in 2016 and said to be the first male fashion doll with realistic body proportions. There are additional outfits available for both the boy and girl Lammily dolls, many of which reflect careers, such as chef or firefighter.
Unusually for a fashion doll, there is a 'Lammily Marks' pack available, featuring re-usable stickers showing marks including freckles, cellulite, grass stains, and wounds. There is also a Lammily Period Pack which includes a pair of pants and many colourful sanitary towels for the doll, accompanied by a book explaining menstruation to children.
The Lammily doll was featured in an online advertising campaign called #DoYou, which shows Lammily excited to go on a vacation to Miami before being beset by beauty standards.
The project and its agenda were satirized in popular comedy media outlet The Onion's March 6, 2014 issue with respondents on American Voices stating when asked what they think of Lamm's idea: "I don't care what the new standard of beauty is as long as girls feel pressured to meet it," and "Maybe if you base your life around a doll you deserve what you get."
It has been argued that Barbie dolls reflect highly sexualized image and circumscribe girl's play by emphasizing prescribed roles and patterns of interaction. It is feared that by dramaticizing stereotypical feminine roles during play, girls will internalize and later embody such roles. This is one of the reasons Lammily was received as so refreshing.Kuther, Tara L., and Erin McDonald. "Early Adolescents' Experiences With, And Views Of, Barbie." Adolescence 39.153 (2004): 39-51. Child Development & Adolescent Studies. Web. 25 February 2016.
On November 19 of 2014 a video showing the reaction of second graders from St. Edmund's Academy in Pittsburgh, PA to the new Lammily doll was published on YouTube by the doll's creator. As of 7 March 2017 the video has attracted over 4.8 million views.
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