According to a new study, the proportion of Barbie-brand dolls with the toy's iconic tip-toe posture has dropped over time. Cylie Williams of Monash University in Frankston, Australia, and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS One on May 14, 2025.
Since introducing Barbie in 1959, Mattel has released many versions of the doll that appear to reflect societal shifts in women's employment, empowerment, and body shape. In 2023, a humorous scene in the movie "Barbie" drew popular attention to Barbie's foot posture, which is commonly in tip-toe "equinus" posture to accommodate high heels, but may be flat for other footwear.
However, while prior academic studies have assessed Barbie's body shape, few have focused on the doll's iconic tip-toe posture. Williams and colleagues wondered how Barbie's foot posture may have shifted over time as Mattel released new versions with different occupations, ethnicities, and disabilities.
The researchers developed a novel system for categorizing certain characteristics for any version of Barbie, which they named FEET: Foot posture; Equity (diversity and inclusion); Employment (job-themed, such as Eye Doctor Barbie, or fashion-themed, such as Twirly curls Barbie); and Time period of manufacture. They used FEET to analyze 2,750 versions of Barbie-brand dolls made between 1959 and June 2024.
The analysis revealed that the percentage of Barbie dolls with tip-toe posture dropped over time, from 100% in the first decade of production, to 40% in 2020 through June 2024. "Employed" versions were significantly more likely to have flat feet, while fashion-focused dolls were more likely to have tip-toe posture. There were also strong statistical links between dolls representing people of color and the tip-toe posture. Less strong links were found between flat feet and diversity, as well as between flat feet and dolls with disabilities.
The authors state that "our observed strong relationship between flat foot posture and time, suggests … changing [workforce] roles and laws were reflected in Barbie's foot posture." They suggest that "Barbie [is] making foot posture and footwear choices that best enable her participation in employment and physical activity".
While this study reveals new insights into Barbie's foot morphology, the researchers note that it excluded special-collections dolls, which may have different foot-posture proportions. The findings cannot be generalized to the broader scope of real world women's fashion choices and employment, and cannot confirm any cause-effect relationship with these. Additionally, while Mattel's Barbie design decisions might reflect trends and historical events, they are likely marketing-based.
The authors add: "Barbie chooses her shoes based on what she's doing—flats for function, heels for fashion—mirroring how many people wear high heels in real life. Since she reflects societal norms, it's time health messaging caught up by focusing less on heel-shaming and more on empowering informed, body-autonomous choices."
"Who better to unpack Barbie's high-heel habits than a team of podiatrists and a Barbie Collector? We came for the biomechanics, stayed for the glitter. Research doesn't always have to be serious and we were surprised to see tiny feet can have interesting stories to tell about cultural shoe wearing practices. Hopefully we see a Podiatrist Barbie on the market soon, we're pretty sure we know what sort of shoes she'd wear."
In your coverage, please use this URL to provide access to the freely available article in PLOS One: https://plos.io/44eUxxb
Citation: Williams C, Graham K, Griffiths I, Wakefield S, Banwell H (2025) Flat out Fabulous: How Barbie's foot posture and occupations have changed over the decades, and the lessons we can learn. PLoS One 20(5): e0323719. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0323719
Author countries: Australia
Funding: The author(s) received no specific funding for this work.
