The Ideal Doll: The Optimal Design for a 12-Inch Doll to Combat Negative Influences

Abstract

Historically, 12-inch dolls have been modeled after the “ideal woman”, with unrealistic proportions of adult females. These dolls have been shown through previous research to contribute to the negative body perception that is found amongst the youth. When efforts were made to make dolls more inclusive, the body remained a curvy, sexualized design. These dramatic proportions encourage young children to compare their own self to the doll creating these negative body perceptions. I used data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to find the average body measurements of girls 5-10 in order to find the average body type of the girls who are most likely playing with 12-inch dolls. Then, I converted these measurements to a 12-inch scale. From there, I used a 3D model generator to help design a doll with those average measurements. After my doll was designed and constructed, I used dolls from the past and present to compare the body types of each doll. The doll I constructed has a more childlike shape, in comparison to the other dolls who have more hyper-skinny or hyper-curvy figures. My doll is more akin to what real girls look like, creating less of a dramatic comparison from the young girl body to the dolls. This, in an ideal setting, lowers the negative body perception of young children.