If this post sounds familiar, not to worry, you aren’t losing your mind. This is a rewind of a post about the Lammily doll I published in February 2015. One of the reasons I am rewinding this post, and sharing it again is because of a post my sweet blogging buddy Shaunacey wrote this week. Shaunacey blogs at Confessions of a Frumpy Mommy. Her post is entitled “There’s a New Barbie in Town” and you can read it here. I will be checking out the new Barbie and posting about her, too, in the future.
Hey Dolls!
Today we are talking about just that…dolls. Actually, one doll in particular – Lammily, seen here on Christmas morning with my very own (grand) doll-baby Cadence.
Are you familiar with Lammily?
I wasn’t until last spring when I read on the Huffington Post about the development of this doll.
Lammily is the brainchild of Nickolay Lamm, a self-described artist and researcher, who created a doll based on his concern for young girls’ body image. Unlike other popular fashion dolls whose proportions are unrealistic if not anatomically impossible, Lammily was designed using the proportions of the average American 19 year-old girl.
When transcribing Lammily’s dimensions into human proportions the doll would be 5’4″ and wear a size 7.5 shoe. By comparison, Barbie would be 5’9″ and wear a size 3 shoe. And those are just two of the differences between the dolls. According to “Beauty in proportion: Barbie versus Lammily” by Erika Espinoza, an article published on Ball State Daily, Barbie’s unrealistic proportions indicate that she has a serious eating disorder, anorexia.
Take a look at the chart below:
[source]
Barbie and the sixteen year-old me have one thing in common.
Certainly not the size 3 feet.
Nor the 18″ waist.
And not the height.
At my tallest (before I started my downward decline), I was maybe 5’7″.
But I was anorexic in high school. I was anorexic before people knew what eating disorders were. Before Karen Carpenter. Before Tracey Gold. I dieted my way from 127 to 85 pounds in approximately four months. And my BFF Sharon dieted right along with me.
It all started when I took to heart a comment from one of my mother’s friends that I had put on a little weight. I began exercising excessively and eating a lot of apples…just apples, nothing but apples. And soon I had almost disappeared right before my family’s eyes.
My mother first noticed something was up when she kept having to take in a dress she was making me for the Snowflake Ball in December 1974. Then I had to go to our family doctor when I got sick with a sinus infection. When I raised my shirt so the doctor could listen to my lungs, she and my mother gasped at the sight of my protruding ribs. I had been “found out”.
The doctor questioned me about what I was, or more importantly what I wasn’t eating. She asked about my periods, which had stopped months before and explained that with my excessive dieting, I was possibly jeopardizing my chances of having children down the road. She warned that if I didn’t get back to a “normal” weight soon, I could expect to start growing hair all over my body as an attempt to keep myself warm in response to the loss of body fat.
The road to recovery took several years. By my sophomore year in college, I had gained back all of my weight and about 30 pounds more. Now the ‘pendulum’ had swung the other way. I was close to 160 pounds. My father paid for me to attend an early version of today’s gym for women and he asked me to take my mother along to workout with me!
So, now you know why the idea of this Lammily doll appeals to me. The once-upon-a-time 16 year-old me, the mommy of two daughters me, the Mimi of one granddaughter me. When crowdfunding was opened up for the first edition Lammily in March 2014, I preordered a doll for Brennyn (her daughter Cady) and for Lauren (who doesn’t have a little girl, yet).
If you have a little girl in you life who might benefit from having a Lammily doll, please go here to shop. And if you or anyone you know needs information on anorexia nervosa, please visit the National Eating Disorders webpage by clicking here and here.
I believe in the message these dolls are providing and would like to offer you a chance to win one for some little girl in your life.
Or YOURSELF!
Enter a Rafflecopter giveaway for a Lammily doll by clicking below.
Hugs and sticky kisses,
Sharon
We were crazy girls that year. It’s been a lifetime of yo-yo dieting for me too. That picture brings back a lot of good memories though. What a fun night we had!
Don’t think much has changed in all these years about size/weight though. In some ways I think it’s gotten worse. A persons weight and size should not define the person. Being healthy is much more important. Thank you for sending my Ella a doll too!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
So glad to be able to send Ella a Lammily, too. I would never want our little baby girls to struggle as much as we have with weight and body image issues. Sadly, it is still a part of my every day. Lauren, Brennyn and I are going to do a blog post on their hair in the near future and how they both…Lauren especially…struggled with their curls. Lauren was looking at my old pictures from Panama days and commented on how thin she thought I was back then after having had two babies. It is a shame that I never saw myself as thin enough or pretty enough. And neither did their dad.
Mary
Thank you for sharing your story, Leslie! Anorexia and body image issues are a huge problem, and what little girl wouldn’t benefit from having a realistic doll like Lammily?
jason
Hey There. Jason from Postmatic here.
Normally I subscribe to our new installations to make sure things are
going smoothly.. and don’t usually chime in.
But, I ran across these dolls a few days ago as well and was sooooo
happy to see they are on the market. Just this last christmas we had an
impossible time finding dolls for our girls which seemed appropriate and
fitting as playmates. We did settle on Goldi Blox
(http://www.goldieblox.com) which was well received. Next year we’ll be
going Lammily for sure. They are incredible. Spread the word!
Jason
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Oh boy, Jason, I am honored that you took time to read my post. Everything is going smoothly with Postmatic from my end. What great customer service that you guys check in with your customers!! Love it. I have GoldiBlox “saved” in my Amazon shopping cart for my granddaughter’s birthday. I was afraid it might be a little difficult for her yet but she will be five in July so will buy it for her then. I plan on making Lammily my go-to gift for little girls. And I am thrilled with the Nickolas Lamm’s plans to add more dolls of different ethnicities in the future. Even scars, moles, freckles and cellulite…that’s me all rolled into one!
Thank you again for your thoughtful comment, for being a great gift-buying dad and an excellent Postmatic rep. Please come back again.
jason
Hey Leslie,
Oh, sure thing! Since we are in beta we try to check in on how everyone
is doing… and what they are doing as well.
The goldiblox was a bit challenging for my 6 year old to put together on
her own.. but once we got it built she was able to play with it just
fine. She loves it.. but it would have been better for her if she was a
few years older.
I’m glad you’re getting some good use out of Postmatic. Enjoy!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, Mary, for stopping by and for your supportive comments. My husband really doesn’t think that Barbie’s proportions affect or influence little girls’ body images but I think there is something to it. Stay tuned as I will be teaming up with my curl-headed daughters for a blog about curly hair and how their curls dismayed and affected them growing up. Hope you will come back again.
Lana
What a cool doll – since I don’t have girls I didn’t know about this, but I will be sharing. Thanks so much for telling your story about anorexia. Sometimes just a small, innocent comment can cause so much damage. Glad you recovered into the beautiful woman you are today!
Carrie @ Curly Crafty Mom
Wow, I had no idea you went through this as a child and how brave of you to admit it on the blog. I was always really skinny as a kid and probably too skinny, but I was a picky eater and had a really fast metabolism. I’m also on the taller side I guess for a girl, at 5’7. It is funny how that all changes after you have kids and get older. After I had Autumn, I was the heaviest I had ever been in my life, especially around my midsection! I did get a lot of comments from people after I was trying to get the baby fat off (months after having her!) and I didn’t know what to do. That is when I started running and I still do today. I think it is great that Barbie is coming out with other dolls, I don’t know if at my daughters age if they really know what body image is… but, I think they do as there is a girl in my daughters class that is heavier and some of the kids give her a hard time about it and now she is in counseling for it (YES, this is 1st grade!). I think its important to know there are all body, shapes and sizes, but it is also important to stay at a healthy body weight, too (extreme obesity and yes anorexia are both bad!). Anyway, enough said. I know my daughter would LOVE, love, LOVE to when this Lammily Doll. I had never heard of this doll and wow those stats on Barbie are SCARY. Barbie really needs to chow down on some donuts or something!
Carrie
curlycraftymom.com
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Laughing out loud about Barbie chowing down on doughnuts. Did you gain more weight with Autumn
than with Nathan? I did really well with my first daughter, Brennyn, while I was living in Panama.
But in my eighth month I had to come home to the States and my mom fattened me up in a hurry. So much
so I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. I did get the weight back off but my body was never quite
the same! With my youngest daughter, Lauren, I didn’t gain much at all – was too busy chasing Brennyn.
And I have always run, too, which I think is the fastest way to get back in shape. Never have run like you
do, though! Can’t imagine you ever being anything but perfectly fit!
Shaunacey
you’re such an awesome and brave lady for sharing this. I’ve struggled with similar issues in the past and it’s a constant battle to live up to unrealistic expectations.
I love dolls like Lammily that girls can see an accurate representation of themselves and the women around them.
Keep fighting!!!
Confessions of a Frumpy Mommy
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, Shaunacey. I am no longer anorexic and haven’t been for years and years, but my weight, what I eat and how I look
is always at the back of my mind. I don’t remember being preoccupied by Barbie’s “figure” as a little girl but somewhere along the way
I became overly self-conscious. Hope little bit with like the Lammily. Keep an eye open for it in the mail.
XO
Carrie
Wow, Leslie! That was a dark time I’m sure but so glad you were able to get back unto the right track. I hope your health is now good and you will not encounter any long term issues from those years. So hard your body I’m sure. Thank you for sharing this story!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, Carrie. As far as I know, I don’t have any long-term health issues from the anorexia but I think
we got it under control in the nick of time. When I heard the doctor suggest that my body would start growing
hair everywhere to replace the loss of body fat, I was horrified. And thinking I might never have children
because of the impact on my cycles was the straw that broke the camel’s back. We left the doctor’s office and
I had a cheeseburger and milk shake. It was a long road getting back to a normal weight but I have more than
done it, now!!
Nickolay
Stories like these make my day. Thank you so much for sharing your personal story and for backing Lammily from the very beginning!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
My pleasure, Nickolay! Thank YOU for making an important product in the form of a little doll that melts
the hearts of everyone who meets her. And thank you for your comment!