Did you ever play with imperfect dolls?

"One of my favorite Barbies had a chewed hand. But I thought she was really pretty. If anything, her hand made me like her more. My all-time favorite was a Kira doll with an orange swimsuit. She was a gift from a babysitter. I kept it her pristine. But she had a skin thing. It was starting to deteriorate. I thought it looked like skin-peeling. It made sense to me ('cause she was always out in the sun!) and I liked her more for it. I hated the few Ken dolls I had. They were either douchey or dudebro-y and they held zero attraction for me or my Barbies. They were not treated with care. And they were always naked."


-Melinda, 23, multiracial (Hispanic/Caucasian), bisexual female from Indianapolis, IN, USA

Did you ever wish to look like Barbie?

"I wasn't interested in blonde Barbie. I always liked the more "ethnic" looking dolls. I don't think I grew up with particularly low self-esteem, but I know I didn't look like Barbie and I also knew that Barbie was "perfect". But I still didn't want to look like her. I thought that the darker Barbies with darker hair and skin were prettier anyway. But I was envious of the doll's face. I still have issues with how I feel towards my profile. And theirs were so dainty and perfect."


-Melinda, 23, multiracial (Hispanic/Caucasian), bisexual female from Indianapolis, IN, USA

Did you ever wish to look like Barbie?

"Not like the old version of Barbie- the newer one. I just wanted to have pretty clothes like her..I didn't care for my appearance until I was 13 years old. However, I wanted to have perfect skin, waist, boobs."


-Linda, 15, Chinese, heterosexual, female from Canada