#15 Barbie, Ariana Grande and challenging body 'ideals'

Undressing our obsession with looking a certain type of way (read: like a doll) and why the 'hourglass' aesthetic was prized way before social media...

I’ve got a story to tell you. Once upon a time, in a dusky pink bedroom, there was a little princess (or so she liked to imagine) called Lauren, aged five, who loved nothing more than playing with her half a dozen or so Barbies. All swishy blonde hair, swanlike necks and permanently pointed toes. For many years she remained quite convinced that when she…