Psychologist Claims Real-Life Barbie Doll Valeria Lukyanova Lives in Fantasy World

Ukrainian internet sensation Valeria Lukyanova captured global attention when she was declared a real-life Barbie doll, earlier this year. The hype around the young woman cooled off after the initial burst of interest. However, a recent photo shoot, in lingerie, for V Magazine, has put the 21-year-old model back in the spotlight.

Lukyanova has drawn praise and criticism in equal measure over claims that she has used cosmetic surgery to alter her physical appearance. A number of people insist this human Barbie doll has an unhealthy obsession with her looks, and psychologists have speculated that Lukyanova lives in a fantasy world because she finds being her "authentic self" uninspiring.

Los Angeles-based psychologist Dr Seth Meyers detailed why, he felt, the Ukrainian had gone to such extreme lengths to alter her physical appearance.

"The interview from V, as well as photos of the so-called beauty, suggest a woman who finds her authentic self and the reality around her to be empty and uninspiring, causing her to create and live in a fantasy world of her own making," said Dr Meyers. It should be noted that Dr Meyers has not treated or consulted Lukyanova in any way.

"Considering her from a strength-based approach, her efforts indicate an innovative and truly artistic orientation, where she uses her body as post-feminist performance art," he explained. "The problem, however, with such a perspective is that her ultra-contrived appearance caters exclusively to men's fantasies of tiny waistlines and enormous breasts in women.

"Because men can't find this fantasy in real life, pictures of the Human Barbie send these men flocking to the internet for a cybersexual experience that casts the real women in their lives aside because they simply can't - and shouldn't - measure up," Dr Meyers added.

Meanwhile, plastic surgeon Dr Anthony Youn (who has not treated Lukyanova either) claimed that despite denials, he feels sure Lukyanova has undergone surgery to alter her natural physical features.

"Her face is impossibly sculpted and chiseled, as if made from a plastic mold. It appears to me that she's either wearing two pounds of fancy, special-effects makeup or has had some plastic surgery to reshape her eyes and her nose. Her nose is as thin as a popsicle stick," the surgeon told Radar Online.

Finally, check out this video, reportedly of Lukyanova winning a beauty contest in 2007, which seems to suggest there has been some alteration in her physical features since then.