This model looks exactly like a real-life Barbie and the internet can't handle it
Barbie has long been under mounting criticism for not promoting a realistic image of women. The dolls, manufactured by the American toy company Mattel, launched in 1959 and they feature the iconically over-exaggerated female form – big eyes, a tall and slender frame, big boobs and thin limbs.
It's been proven that if Barbie's measurements were applied to a real human body, she would be incapable of physically holding herself up thanks to her spindly frame and top-heavy features.
Barbie has since had a slight cosmetic change, and there are now dolls that range in stature and weight - with some flaunting wider hips and proportions closer to what we see in real life, as well as freckles and different hair types.
But one (real-life) model caused a stir last year when a picture she posted on social media went viral due to her striking resemblance to the Mattel doll. After Duckie Thot posted an image of herself in a gold gown with the caption "ducks after dark", people bombarded the image with comments saying that she looks identical to Barbie.
And it's hard not to see why – her crazy long limbs, flawless skin and pouty lips make you think that maybe Barbies really can look human. Or is it the other way around?
The model seems to have found the correlation quite funny, later posting a picture of a doll with messed up hair to Twitter, quipping in the caption: "I'm not perfect. Sometimes, a girl slips".
The Australian-Sudanese model caught the public eye as a contestant on the 2013 season of Australia's Next Top Model. But since then, the 22-year-old has moved from Melbourne to New York in an effort to get more modelling gigs, telling W Magazine that although she loves Australia "with [her] whole heart", it's a country that "doesn't promote black models."
The past year has seen her shoot to fame by working with fashion magazines in various editorial spreads. She's also worked closely with Rihanna, starring as the face of Fenty, and having performed with the singer at this year's Grammy's.
Brands like Fenty are pioneering the movement for beauty brands to be more inclusive with their products, and to cast a more diverse selection of models for promotional work. Duckie herself has felt the frustration of being neglected in the beauty industry, saying that she never really had any guidance on how to work with her own natural hair.
"Being a black woman, we haven't really been taught how to take care of our natural hair — we've only been taught how to hide it," she told Teen Vogue. "I think hair companies, the media, hairstylists, and the industry itself are to blame. They haven't made the same efforts to ensure black women are looked after in their most natural form. ... I think [the industry] should really take ownership and start to invest into us."
"I’ve been moulded by absolutely everybody in every corner," she reflected. "When I started listening to my own voice, that’s when things really started picking up for me"
Now, she says she gets messages from women all over the world sharing their stories of what it was like trying to fit in while feeling different because of their skin colour. Duckie hopes that by staying true to herself, she will inspire other women to do the same.
"I’m confident in myself now; I’ve found myself, so I think helping others through that is important, especially today," she said.