A mum of two who was worried about her daughter's perception of beauty has taken matters into her own hands - by creating a doll that looks just like her. Angelica Sweeting and husband Jason, from Miami, produced the 'naturally perfect' Angelica Doll to reflect the appearance of their daughters, Sophia and Sydney, and they hope that it can help other families, too.
In a video on their Kickstarter page , Jason explains that the Angelica Doll was 'born out of necessity' because their four-year-old daughter, Sophia, said she was no longer happy with how she looked. Angelica said: "She wanted yellow hair and white skin. She pretty much just hated how she looked because she didn't look like the doll that she constantly sees or the characters that she constantly sees on TV."
The couple set about creating the 18-inch doll, which has natural hair, skin tone and features which truly reflect her family.
She told today.com: "There are other black dolls now but a lot of black Barbie dolls still have facial features that are Caucasian or more European and all have long straight hair even though it's black."
"She wanted to look like Barbie and she wanted hair like Elsa, long blond hair and white skin. I was really, really sad that my daughter would think that at such a young age... I knew I had to do something about it."
And it's not all about looks. The dolls will also have 'interesting careers' in 'engineering, journalism, software development, public relations, etc.' in the hope of inspiring a generation of young women to dream big.
Angelica, who left her own job to dedicate her time to this project, added that the project has given her a new perspective on her own life. She said: "Here I am - 27 years old, and I am honestly just beginning to walk into who I am, my natural beauty. "I want this to happen earlier, not only for my daughters but for your daughter, your niece, your sister, and for all young girls around the world. I want this to happen for all the young girls who never felt pretty enough because of their kinks, curls, wider noses or fuller lips.
"I'm creating Angelica to let girls know that they are beautiful. Our girls need to see a reflection of their own unique beauty. It's time for our young girls to have a new standard."
Source: UK Mirror