Paulina Porizkova Asks What Barbie Would Look Like Designed By A Woman

Now that the new "Barbie" movie is out, model Paulina Porizkova has one question on her mind: What would Barbie look like if she was designed by a woman?

The author of "No Filter: The Good, The Bad, and The Beautiful" took to Instagram to share a little bit more about the history of Barbie and raise the question of what she would look like had she been designed by a woman.

On Thursday afternoon, the “Anna” actress took to Instagram to ask her followers, “What would Barbie look like if she was DESIGNED by a woman?” She went on to say, “This is a question that has been bugging me in the advent of all the Barbie hoopla.”

Although Ruth Handler is credited for creating Barbie in 1959 and co-founding Mattel with her husband Elliot, Paulina says, “ No, she wasn’t designed by Ruth Handler, she was copied, scrubbed clean of her shameful- or is it shameless - past, and brought to America by Ruth Handler.”

Paulina took a deep dive into the past of the iconic doll, writing, “Initially, she was Bild Lilli, a cartoon character from post war Germany, who was so popular in a comic strip in the magazine Bild, that she was made into an adult novelty toy marketed mostly to men. She was a seductress, a tart.”

“Her crazy b**b-waist-hip ration and long legs seems to me the idea of a man drawing a sexy, seductive woman, a vixen,” she explained. “But her proportions also looked good in fashionable clothing, and that may have been her draw to women. The exaggerated curves of femininity were all the rage in fashion in the 1950’s - Christian Dior pioneered the silhouette.”

“What Ruth Handler thought or why, I can’t presume to know. But you only have to look at the original Bild Lilly and Barbie to see Bild Lilly was more than an inspiration,” she continued. “This is not a slight on Barbie or the woman who brought her to us- merely a question I cannot answer. I loved my one Barbie with a passion I have not felt for any toy since. (Yes, ONE Barbie. Money was scarce when I was a child.)”

“But it keeps me wondering. What sort of a body would a WOMAN design as a woman doll?” she concluded, wrapping up her post with the hashtags #whatwouldawomando and #barbie.

Fans were quick to chime in with their thoughts of what their Barbie would look like and share their own experience with the doll. Although some had specific ideas of what their own doll would look like, many of her followers felt that "Barbie" should be designed to cater to all different body types.

“Yeah, there was a stage as a girl when I was obsessed with having a Barbie. Never owned one, we couldn’t afford the real thing. I had a cheap knock-off and I spent a lot of life trying to achieve that silhouette only to recognize (thankfully while still young) that it was unattainable,” one fan wrote. “I’d design a version of myself, somewhat busty, little plump, good proportions but something that better reflects a woman whose body is real and has aged.”

One follower speculated, “Depends on the woman... if designed by popular influencers she would be thin, tan, wearing $800.00 dollar shoes and carrying a $12,000 Hermes bag.” Another fan shared, “That’s a tough question but from my perspective, I would hope Barbies would be designed in different formats: all body types, with piercings and tattoos (and without), different skin colors, many fashion choices, working Barbies, intellectual Barbies, transgender and gay Barbies etc etc etc.”

“I always wondered why some Barbies didn't talk because they could carry some great messages if they did i.e. mental health, body shaming, slut shaming, eating disorders, bullying - the list goes on - It's almost like Barbie was seen but not heard and it was one of many things that produced that (for the most part) unachievable body shape for so many women and young girls but hey, I had Barbies too so they were obviously marketed well,” they added.