By Danielle Bucco

Growing up, little girls are always told that their Barbie dolls are the true example of ideal feminine beauty. Barbie represents this idea of ageless, timeless beauty that sets a certain type of standard for women to try to fit. Society starts to believe that women should look like a Barbie doll to be considered beautiful and anything less is not good enough. This week’s artist, Andrea Diamond, wanted to create something that touches on how society views Barbie and tie in her own experiences as well. As someone who is dealing with infertility in her own way she found this Barbie Doll work of art extremely therapeutic.

Andrea started struggling with secondary infertility after the birth of her first child. She believes that she started to notice time having an effect on her appearance as well as the decline of her internal organs. As she realized her chances of having another child were becoming more challenging, she felt the need to take her anger and aggression out on the timeless perfection that Barbie represents. By mutilating Barbie, she is demonstrating how she feels inside and how she is, ”no longer preparing my body as a sacred vessel that will create life.”

This work of art was a way for Andrea to express the many emotions that come with infertility. She felt as if nature betrayed her so she was going to do the same to Barbie and demonstrate just how much pain and anger she is in. Since nature had taken away her ability to create a child she felt as if nature was going to take away her outer beauty as well. This is one of the many examples of people who have found solace through art and use it as a type of therapy and to express their story. Learn more about the artwork through Andrea’s own words here: Diamond_Andrea