‘Elf and safety gone mad! Hospital Barbie dolls shouldn’t have their hair down or wear high heels, say experts who want a ‘realistic’ version with correct PPE

She is known for looking impeccable and being able to dress for any occasion.

But when it comes to hospital wards and theaters, Barbie should go back to medical school, a study suggests.

In what sounds like a case of 'elf and security gone mad', the popular doll has been accused of flouting professional standards in a special Christmas edition of the BMJ.

Although they are often seen wearing a stethoscope, medical and scientific Barbies ignore strict rules: they wear long hair down and teeter on high heels, the analysis found.

The study involved everything from a construction worker to a judge, and wanted to test how lifelike the images of Barbie scientists and doctors are.

Researcher Katherine Klamer, from Indiana University in the US, wanted to identify the types of medical and scientific fields in which Barbie dolls worked compared to other career dolls and to determine whether they met clinical and laboratory safety standards. She analyzed 92 Barbie brand career dolls, including 53 doctors, 10 scientists, 2 science teachers, 15 nurses, 11 dentists and a paramedic. In the photo the 'Barbie Scientist Doll'

More than two-thirds of Barbie brand female dolls of medical professionals and scientists wore their hair down, and more than half wore high-heeled shoes, even in environments where this would be discouraged or actively prohibited for safety reasons. In the photo the 'Barbie dentist doll and play set'

Researcher Katherine Klamer, from Indiana University in the US, wanted to identify the types of medical and scientific fields in which Barbie dolls worked compared to other career dolls and to determine whether they met clinical and laboratory safety standards.

She analyzed 92 Barbie brand career dolls, including 53 doctors, 10 scientists, 2 science teachers, 15 nurses, 11 dentists and a paramedic.

A comparison group of 65 non-Barbie career dolls, including 26 doctors, 27 scientists, seven nurses, two dentists, two engineers and one MRI technician, from July to November 2023.

Dolls' careers were identified by visually analyzing clothing, accessories and packaging, and their personal safety accessories were assessed according to Indiana University guidelines.

Barbie brand medical professional dolls largely treated children (66 percent), with only three dolls (four percent) depicted working with adult patients.

With the exception of three ophthalmologist dolls, all of the Barbie brand doctor dolls appeared to either have no specialty or to be pediatricians with no apparent subspecialty.

Barbie dolls often came with items such as lab coats, microscopes, stethoscopes and glasses. However, none of the dolls fully met professional safety standards for their respective fields.

While 98 percent of Barbie brand doctor dolls came with stethoscopes, only 4 percent had face masks and none had disposable gloves.

More than two-thirds of female dolls of medical professionals and scientists from the Barbie brand also wore loose hair, and more than half wore high-heeled shoes, even in environments where this would be discouraged or actively prohibited for safety reasons.

Of the 12 Barbie brand dolls, none met all personal protective equipment requirements regarding hair and clothing.

Barbie brand career dolls were predominantly depicted as adult (98 percent), female (93 percent) and white (59 percent), and no dolls were depicted with a visible disability.

Of the comparison dolls, 32 percent were white and one had a prosthetic arm.

The other dolls covered a wider range of age and ethnic groups than Barbie, but they also struggled to represent a wide range of medical and scientific areas, with most failing to wear proper PPE.

The 'Barbie' movie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling (pictured), was an instant hit in July, enjoying the biggest Box Office debut of the year, grossing more than $300 million in its opening weekend.

The study featured everything from construction workers to judges and wanted to test how lifelike the images of Barbie scientists and doctors are. Pictured: 'Judge Barbie', released in October 2019

The author acknowledges that no in-depth statistical analysis was used, and although every effort was made to include as many manikins from medical professionals and laboratory scientists as possible, some manikins may have been overlooked.

Because these dolls help inspire the medical professionals and scientists of tomorrow, she urged all toy manufacturers to create better, more accurate, and professionally diverse dolls of medical professionals and scientists.

She concludes, “For the sake of the young girls as well as her own, Barbie must continue to shatter glass ceilings.”

Sareh Parangi of Harvard Medical School wrote in a linked editorial that Barbie should focus on trauma or neurosurgery, while agreeing that “safety comes before fashion.”

She said: 'We encourage and would welcome the creation of a Surgeon Barbie, and would be happy to advise Mattel on the appropriate associated equipment and PPE to ensure the doll is realistic and fun!

“With an expanded line, Barbies can inspire young girls' views on surgeons and scientists, rather than allowing these careers to be aspirational.

“What better way than to let Barbie be the first, as she has done in the past?”