She Turns Barbies Into Normal Women To Show Children Reality

First released in 1959, Barbie dolls with their petite silhouette and silky hair have made a mark on children all over the world. But faced with their uniform physique, Australian doll maker Betty Strachan decided to create new versions that were more realistic and representative of women.

During her transformations, Betty does not hesitate to revisit the entire appearance of the dolls, far from the pink and girly universe that we know them. She retouches their shapes, brings them new clothes, sometimes a more tired complexion or even a brushing that is not impeccably done. Objective: to offer children a more representative vision of women through their dolls.

Betty transforms, cuts, repaints, and dresses the various dolls from her workshop. But one idea was particularly close to her heart in this project: to illustrate motherhood with models with round bellies or breastfeeding.

Giving her customers the option of customizing their own doll, she recently designed one in a wheelchair for a little girl with a disability. You can also contact her to customize if you wish directly via her Etsy online store. Discover Betty Strachan's dolls below, also to be found on her Instagram account.

And among similar initiatives, remember the Ukrainian artist Olga Mutina who “removes makeup” from dolls to give them a realistic and natural look.