Contrary to what her shining hair, clear skin, and bright eyes might suggest, Barbie is basically dying. Or, rather, she was never alive in the first place because 1.) She's made of plastic and 2.) She only has enough space in her body for half a liver and a few inches of intestine. Whoops!
Exercises in imagination regarding what Barbie would be like in real life are hardly new news — body image activists, eating disorder researchers, and people who care about pop culture's influence on the human psyche have been wondering about this for years now. But the latest infographic to surface on this topic is still interesting, particularly for its more specifically medical approach to the question. Created by Rehabs.com, a resource site for mental health centers across the country, the stats tell a typically disturbing tale of the quite literally unattainable beauty pushed by this iconic doll. Check it out:
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If you're feeling like all those numbers mean nothing without context, click through to the next page, where you can see how Barbie's stats compare to the average woman's body.
Image: Courtesy of Rehabs.com.
As you can see, Barbie isn't what we'd call emblematic of a nation of women. Or a species of human. She's had her merits as a style icon and even as a sort of role model with her various careers, but we sincerely hope that, at this point, she'll become more of a collector's item than a must-have for kids. Maybe young girls can play with trucks or something — it's so crazy, it just might work.
Image: Courtesy of Rehabs.com.
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