How's this for "playing Barbie?" Give her a pot belly. Chop her flowing hair into a Mohawk. Or remodel her torso to flatten out her chest.

Those were a few of the creative makeovers the iconic fashion doll got Saturday at a "Barbie jamming" event in Peterborough, where kids were invited to use clay, fabric, paints – and their imaginations – to make her look more like a real female.

The unusual activity, sponsored by the Peterborough County-City Health Unit and held at a downtown mall, was aimed at challenging body image stereotypes that promote the ideal of skinny, busty girls and muscle-bound guys with six-packs.

"It's been a great success and it started a lot of dialogues between kids and their parents," said Rachelia Giardino, 19, event organizer and one of six youth staff at the health unit.

At least 200 people stopped by the display table. In the end, there were 75 newly made Barbies, along with remodelled Ken dolls, Bratz, and action and wrestling figures.

Changing Barbie "to reflect what beauty means to them," said Giardino, helped a lot to share their thoughts on eating disorders and the pressure they felt to look like celebrities and magazine models.

The Trent University history student had lots of Barbies growing up in Peterborough. Now she sees the doll's fair hair, teensy waist and perfect breasts as part of a barrage of unhealthy images fed to young girls that breed dissatisfaction and distort the way they see themselves.

Giardino says she has noticed the pressure mounting on teenage boys, too, to pump iron or head to the gym to bulk up.

The event's name came from the concept of "culture jamming" – or disrupting the cultural norm by creating a new message, says Keith Beecroft, youth development worker. Participants were interviewed about their creations and videos are to appear on its website at www.pcchu.ca.