Hi Barbie — Jillian Ilana

With the Oscars just around the corner, conversations are re-igniting about the Barbie movie, the character, the idea of who Barbie is and what she represents in today’s society. And it had me thinking, remembering…

I went by myself to see the Barbie movie. I wore pink because, of course, and remember walking out feeling empowered and yet still not seen. Let me explain.

We all know the original Barbie in the black-and-white swimsuit. She’s iconic. Her power and influence is not to be underestimated. She defied the standards before setting seemingly unrealistic or unattainable new ones. She is someone that couldn’t necessarily exist outside of Barbie’s dream world. Over time she has evolved, becoming more reflective of the real world around her, but there are still ways to go.

For past, present, and future generations of young girls, the Barbies that have followed in the original’s footsteps are aspirational as well as inspirational. They are career women that can be whoever they want to be whether that’s a doctor, dancer, princess or president. Every girl had their dream Barbie who represented the person they dreamed of becoming when they grew up. As for me, a little person, I’m still waiting for Dwarf Barbie.

So, for Dwarfism Awareness Month last year, while I continued to wait, I wanted to first try to define who she could be in Barbie’s world. She still wears the black-and-white swimsuit, the glasses and the gold hoops. She knows that she can’t necessarily meet the heights and standards set before her, but that’s not going to limit her from reaching her dreams.

When envisioning, embodying who I thought Dwarf Barbie could be in the real world I thought of the dwarf ancestors who came before me and those present that I look up to, that I am honored to call my peers, my mentors, my friends. They are fierce, they are unstoppable, they know how to make themselves seem and their voices heard.

So, who is Dwarf Barbie in the real world? How did I see her?

She is resourceful, she is capable, she is successful. She is passionate and she is powerful. She’s a boss babe. At her short stature she stands tall and, of course, she wears pink. She has flaws, she has imperfections…she’s human.

This shoot was for my younger self. This was for the little girl I once was who played with Barbies, hoping one day that there would be one who looked like me - someone of short stature who stood tall, who forged their own unique path to success, who had dreams that defied limitations.