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| Celeb News: "Living Barbie Doll" an Iconic Symbol of the Future? Aug 28th 2012, 18:51   Quote:
Living Barbie Valeria Lukyanova, a 21-year-old Ukranian model, became an Internet sensation when photos of her doll-like appearance began circulating in the media. Some called her freakish; others called her crazy; but is she "an iconic symbol" of the future of Western society?
Lukyanova's physical appearance is the centrifugal issue at hand. Viewers continue to gape at her huge, glassy blue eyes, her seemingly plastic skin, her ample bosom, her waist-long blonde hair and her carved waist. Skeptics questioned whether her photos were legitimate or if they had been digitally altered because she appears so exceptionally nonhuman.
The story of this living Barbie has spawned a multitude of conversations in the public arena. Professionals have voiced concern over society's obsession with this living Barbie and how she could potentially be "an iconic symbol of things to come."
Dr. Keith Ablow penned an article for FOX News on Monday about why he believes Valeria Lukyanova is actually dangerous. "Now, it seems, a la Valeria/Barbie, our selves may become entirely dispensable and disposable, in favor of becoming a living duplicate of a famous product, or a dead ringer for a celebrity, or (and, trust me, this will happen, too) a would-be tiger, tattooed orange, with stripes, wearing a tail at all times," wrote Ablow.
"I don't know the particulars of Valeria's psyche. One could theorize, however, that a woman moved to imitate a doll-a woman who looks, in fact, lifeless in many of her pictures-may have become so estranged from her real thoughts and feelings and real life history that she has cut herself free from them and is floating in a synthetic world of gawkers who treat her much as she seems to treat herself-an entertainment phenomenon, an 'item,' not a human being."
"The living Barbie, if a sign of things to come, predicts a time when people flee from their real emotions and real capacity to change their lives and empathize with those of others. It predicts a time when what passes for 'happiness' is being anethetized, when living this 'life' requires one's psychological death, when 'self-expression' requires mimicry of others, even of inanimate objects or fictional characters," Dr. Ablow wrote for FOX News.
The issue of Valeria Lukyanova disrupting the notion of self-worth has become another issue until itself. Professionals critiqued that a "living Barbie" should not be introduced into the mainstream media because she could potentially harm the psyche of young girls.
"At any age, placing too much value on physical appearance can be potentially detrimental to a person's self esteem and sense of self worth," Emma Gray, clinical director at the British CBT & Counselling Service, told the Daily Mail. "Equally concerning is why these images have been created and for what purpose. Distorting or enhancing pictures of children so that they appear older and more sexual surely crosses the line between how we should treat the children in our society and how we should not."
Is living Barbie Valeria Lukyanova "an iconic symbol" of the future? Fascination over her continues to this day, as people continue to analyze her mysterious persona and as she continues to provide fuel for the fire.
| source  Queen. | |
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