Lebanese doll startup aims to present a more realistic body image

Long before touchscreens, virtual reality games, and hardware, toys dominated kids’ entertainment. For some it was just dolls in make-believe fantasy worlds.

While Barbie was undoubtedly popular, the doll has been accused of beingharmful to the self-image of little girls. Many argued that barbies, with their model-slim figure and all-American looks, perpetuated impossible standards of beauty and appearance.

But Lebanese doll company My Doll and Me believes its concept to be the key solution to “Arabizing” healthy looking dolls with “the right culture that can empower little girls in the region,” as cofounder Lamice Joujou puts it.

Wamda met with Joujou to discuss their concept, challenges and triumphs.

Wamda: What is the concept behind My Doll and Me?

Lamice Joujou: We’re putting dolls back on trend because now, as you know, is the trend [of] social media and virtual games. We wanted to set the trend of playing with dolls back, but our dolls are not blond with blue eyes and a perfect body. Those dolls set high standards for girls and create problems with their body image. We focus instead on empowering girls.

Wamda: What qualities did you want in the dolls?

Joujou: The most important feature that we were looking for is an innocent, normal-looking girl of 8-10 years of age, with no makeup and without a top-model body. We also wanted the dolls to look like normal Lebanese girls, not American or western. These [dolls] were going to be sold in Lebanese market, and we decided that, for every market we penetrate, we will moderate the features of dolls to fit the country we are targeting.

Original article by Maysaa Ajjan

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Lebanese doll startup aims to present a more realistic body image