Barbie Feet Challenge

About

Barbie Feet Challenge, also known as the #BarbieHeelChallenge, is an internet challenge popularized on TikTok in which people attempt to recreate a scene in the 2023 Barbie movie where Barbie steps out of her high-heels and continues to walk on tiptoe. The challenge was inspired by a scene in the film's trailer, but grew more prevalent after the release of the film in July 2023, subsequently causing doctors to step in to advise against the challenge.

Origin

The first trailer for Barbie was released on April 4th, 2023 (shown below). In a memorable scene, Margot Robbie's Barbie steps out of her high-heeled shoes and continues walking on her tiptoes, keeping her feet in the same position as a Barbie doll's would be.

On April 6th, TikToker louboutin.of.brentwood recreated the scene, gaining over 180 likes in three months (shown below, left). On April 8th, TikToker Shannascribner^[1] posted a similar video and the first with the "#Barbieheelchallenge" hashtag. She challenged others to recreate the scene, gaining over 1,700 likes in three months (shown below).

Spread

Videos of others attempting the scene became increasingly prevalent on the app in July 2023. For example, on July 17th, 2023, TikToker sophiawebster recreated the scene in a video that gained over 6.3 million views in one week (shown below, left). On the 19th, gracehart01 posted a video of her coworkers trying the challenge, gaining over 2.8 million views in one week (shown below, right).

The growing virality of the trend led some doctors to advise against it. Speaking to the New York Post,^[2] podiatrist Dr. Jodi R. Schoenhaus said, "If attempting the pose and stride over long periods, there are some risks involved. The ankle is unstable, which can lead to ligament sprains and injuries, commonly seen with high heel use." She did say that people would probably be fine doing it once or twice for a TikTok video.

Various Examples

Search Interest

Unavailable.

External References