Barbie can be anything, so the saying goes. But, if she wants to be a scientist or a doctor - she needs better PPE.
That’s according to a new study by the British Medical Journal.
The famous doll has been told to boost her science credentials. Not only does Barbie never wear the proper personal protective equipment, she’s handling dangerous equipment and machinery with her hair loose and high heels on.
“Personal protective equipment may not be trendy, but no woman wants to be ‘drop dead gorgeous’ because of preventable causes,” the study warned.
It analysed 93 Barbie career dolls including 53 doctors, 10 scientists, 15 nurses, 11 scientists, 1 paramedic and 1 science educator. Shoes, skirts and pants that ended above the ankle were also a cause for concern.
The brand’s former motto was ‘We can do anything’— (© 2022 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved)
The dolls mainly worked with children with only 4 per cent depicted as working with adults. It said that 98 per cent of the dolls had a stethoscope but only 4 per cent had any PPE with none wearing the full protective equipment required to work in the real world fields of medicine and science.
The Barbies were also depicted as having no particular specialisation.
Dolls wore their hair long and loose with inappropriate shoes— (PA)
The study concluded: “Barbie has a commendable resume that spans various careers, many of them male dominated.
“To prevent Barbie from being barred from her place of work, future dolls should be equipped with the proper personal protective equipment needed to safely perform laboratory and medical work.
“Additionally, Dr Barbie should consider expanding her scientific and medical careers into subfields where women remain a minority, for young girls’ sake as much as her own.”
The Barbie movie broke box office records this year with Mattel developing a future live-action film featuring their American Girl dolls.
