Differing heights of Barbie dolls' famed heels over the past six decades strongly correlate with each character's employment, lifestyle and time period they were created.
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Inspired by the 2023 Barbie movie, researchers audited 2750 Barbies created between 1959 and June 2024 to explore the relationship between the doll's foot posture, diversity, employment and time.
They used a unique system dubbed FEET - foot posture (flat or tiptoes), equity (diversity), employment (fashion or employed) and time (period of manufacture) -finding Barbie's career took off when she stepped into flatter shoes.
The peer-reviewed study from Monash University and the University of South Australia revealed the angle of Barbie's foot posture has decreased over 66 years, with her flat foot design strongly correlating with employment and time period.
Dolls with a tiptoe posture had a strong correlation with fashion, while more diverse versions correlated with fashion and employment.
But as Barbie alters her shoes based on her activities, lead researcher and podiatrist Cylie Williams has noticed real-world advice for women around the topic of wearing high heels has not.
"While Barbie has moved with the times, it appears footwear health messaging about high heel wearing needs to catch up," the researchers wrote.
Health professionals have been discouraging wearing high heels since the early 1900s, linking them with bunions, knee osteoarthritis, plantar fasciitis and low back pain.
But the Monash University professor said there was not a lot of evidence that long term heel-wear damages the foot and many of these conditions are also highly prevalent in the general population with low or no high heel use.
"Barbie was making choices like we think most women do these days, and wear what they need to wear for the task demands that they've got," Dr Williams told AAP.
"There's no bad shoe. There is a bad shoe for an activity."
More than one billion dolls have been sold globally since Mattel launched the brand in 1959, with 92 per cent of American girls aged three to 12 having owned a Barbie.
The doll has adapted to changing societal norms, reflecting racial and disability diversity, as well as female empowerment through a "girls can do anything" mantra and forays into traditionally male-dominated careers.
Researchers hope Barbie can continue to fly the flag for the cause in the footwear space to push back against amplified fears and marketing strategies in the media.
"Barbie is replicating what goes on in real life, but what we still see in media at times is some over-exaggeration of the badness of some shoes," Dr Williams said.
"Barbie clearly makes sensible determinations regarding her body autonomy; high heel wearers should have that same ability," the researchers said.
Australian Associated Press
