# Calculating Barbie's "real-life" measurements **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 25, 2002, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-barbies-real-life-measurements/120708 "2002-07-25T05:01:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![23skidoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/f04885/32.png) [@23skidoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/23skidoo)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-barbies-real-life-measurements/120708/1 "2002-07-25T05:01:14Z")
Google searches turn up about half a dozen different answers to the question: “What are Barbie’s real-life measurements?” Is this question even answerable? It seems to me that one could make her measurements whatever you wanted, based on how tall you wanted to make her. How tall is Barbie supposed to be? Is there any “one body part to another body part” ratio that lends some clue, or can we only guess as to how tall she might be, and multiply everything else accordingly? btw, I really have no motive at all, just curious. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-barbies-real-life-measurements/120708/2 "2002-07-25T05:12:54Z")
[http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/story081.htm](http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/story081.htm) > [@](#): > > If Barbie was 5 foot 6 instead of 11 1/2 inches tall, her measurements, would be 39-21-33. Or figure it yourself. > **[Barbie Pic](https://mathprojects.com/lessons/grade-6/barbie-pic/)** > > Visit the post for more. Math. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![23skidoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/f04885/32.png) [@23skidoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/23skidoo)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-barbies-real-life-measurements/120708/3 "2002-07-25T05:28:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Duck Duck Goose \* > \*\*[http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/story081.htm](http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/story081.htm) > > ## quote: > > ## If Barbie was 5 foot 6 instead of 11 1/2 inches tall, her measurements, would be 39-21-33. > > \*\* Yeah, that was one of the many different and (obviously) contradictory answers that I had found on the web. I was hoping that someone would offer up information on why Barbie should be 5 ft 6 (or any other height), or accurately measure the doll, as there seems to be alot of different answers currently circulating. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-barbies-real-life-measurements/120708/4 "2002-07-25T05:42:22Z")
I’m guessing that the 5’ 6" was just picked out of a hat as a happy medium between the average size of the American female (5’ 4") and the average size of the American female fashion model (5’ 9"). Barbie was originally billed as a “fashion model” doll, but there’s no way anybody with a chest measurement like that could be a modern-day fashion model. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-barbies-real-life-measurements/120708/5 "2002-07-25T11:48:49Z")
Barbie’s curves are exaggerated. The reason is that doll clothes don’t scale down as well as the dolls themselves do. A t-shirt scaled down to Barbie size would be thinner than tissue paper. If you scaled up one of Barbie’s shirts to full size, it would probably be as thick as a heavy winter coat. Since the clothes are so heavy, they have to exaggerate Barbie’s figure so she won’t look flat-chested with her clothes on. ---
**Author:** ![jiHymas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/439d5e/32.png) [@jiHymas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jiHymas)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-barbies-real-life-measurements/120708/6 "2002-07-26T05:54:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Diceman \* > \*\*Since the clothes are so heavy, they have to exaggerate Barbie’s figure so she won’t look flat-chested with her clothes on. \*\* Which, of course, helps four-year-olds visualize that it’s a model of a woman. A four-year-old once told me sadly that her mother didn’t like Barbie. I just about burst into tears. ---
**Author:** ![CnoteChris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/278dde/32.png) [@CnoteChris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CnoteChris)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-barbies-real-life-measurements/120708/7 "2002-07-26T06:13:24Z")
I get the impression that the poster is interested in whether there’s a real, physiological, answer to this question. That is, could you take different measurements of the doll, say and arm and a leg, and compute out a ‘real’ height for her if she were human? At least that’s how I’m reading this question (Unfortunately, or fortunately, if you ask some people, I try and stay away from things both mathmatical and medical). ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-barbies-real-life-measurements/120708/8 "2002-07-26T06:27:44Z")
If you take her Corvette as a guideline, you’ll find that Barbie’s world is about a 1:10 scale. That would make her about 9 feet 7 inches tall. While I have nothing against blondes, that would be one very scary looking woman. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-barbies-real-life-measurements/120708/9 "2002-07-26T06:52:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jiHymas \* > \*\*A four-year-old once told me sadly that her mother didn’t like Barbie. I just about burst into tears. \*\* Why is that so bad? Do you own stock in Mattel or something? ---
**Author:** ![jiHymas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/439d5e/32.png) [@jiHymas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jiHymas)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-barbies-real-life-measurements/120708/10 "2002-07-26T14:13:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CnoteChris \* > **That is, could you take different measurements of the doll, say and arm and a leg, and compute out a ‘real’ height for her if she were human?** I’d be willing to bet a nickel that if you were to scale things up carefully, breast size would not be the most extreme divergence from averages. > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Achernar_ > **Why is that so bad? Do you own stock in Mattel or something?** A four-year-old was being denied a toy she loved for reasons which, at best, were incomprehensible to her. ---
**Author:** ![rsa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rsa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsa)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-barbies-real-life-measurements/120708/11 "2002-07-26T18:28:16Z")
I recently read something about Barbie being six feet tall. Sorry, I have no idea where I saw that, but adjusting **DDG’s** numbers would give 42 1/2-23-36. Sounds about right. ---
**Author:** ![Milton\_De\_La\_Warre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Milton\_De\_La\_Warre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milton_De_La_Warre)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-barbies-real-life-measurements/120708/12 "2002-07-26T19:58:08Z")
I don’t have a Barbie doll to test this out, but are you all teling me that Barbie’s hip measure ment is equal to half her height? ---
**Author:** ![Milton\_De\_La\_Warre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Milton\_De\_La\_Warre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milton_De_La_Warre)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-barbies-real-life-measurements/120708/13 "2002-07-26T20:17:45Z")
While you all are measuring your dolls, can anyone tell me what the leg to total height ratio would be for Barbie and an actual average human female? I am guessing Barbie’s legs are as exaggerated in relative length as the rest of her. FWIW, in 1993 (IIRC), I read an article about a woman in CA who claimed to be able to “channel” Barbie. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-barbies-real-life-measurements/120708/14 "2002-07-26T20:43:18Z")
[Teen Perspective by Heather Ireland - Today’s Standards of Beauty: Far From Average](http://www.theshopper.com/teenpers1201.shtml) > [@](#): > > Everyone has played with or at least seen a Barbie doll and most likely recognized her impossible body proportions. It is physically unattainable for a female to have Barbie’s measurements, no matter what she puts herself through, although this is the ideal that many girls and women alike strive for. > > At 5’9", with a 38DD chest, 18-inch waist, 37 ½" inseam, and a size 5 shoe, a real-life Barbie would not even be able to stand up; she would be forced to get around on all fours. > > Not to mention, based on the data collected by a high school math class in Massachusetts, all the normal human organs would not even fit in her body. They look exactly like what they are: starved, unhealthy illustrations of what the entertainment world seems to believe the modern female gender should look like. ---
**Author:** ![Smashed\_Ice\_Cream](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Smashed\_Ice\_Cream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smashed_Ice_Cream)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-barbies-real-life-measurements/120708/15 "2002-07-26T21:09:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JCHeckler \* > \*\*I don’t have a Barbie doll to test this out, but are you all teling me that Barbie’s hip measure ment is equal to half her height? \*\* That’s actually not so abnormal. Think about it this way: I am 5’8" (68 inches), with 36" hips (that’s fairly thin) My hips are more than half my height ( 36\*2 = 72", or 6 feet.) My husband is 6 foot, with 35 inch hips (skinny guy) Still, (35\*2 = 70", which is only 2 inches less than his height. You gotta be pretty thin, or tall, to have your hips less than half your height. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-barbies-real-life-measurements/120708/16 "2002-07-26T21:20:12Z")
> [@](#): > > At 5’9", with a 38DD chest, 18-inch waist, 37 ½" inseam, and a size 5 shoe, a real-life Barbie would not even be able to stand up; she would be forced to get around on all fours. Well, this sounds like alot of feminist rhetoric. There are plenty of women that are rail thin, with 38DD breast implants, that don’t seem to have any trouble getting around. Unless she’s implying that the small shoe size would impede balance - again, I think this is faux. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-barbies-real-life-measurements/120708/17 "2002-07-26T22:18:05Z")
It 's the enormous eyes that would frighten me. Huge bulging orbs with pupils the size of dimes. Light gathering power for night vision would be great, but sunglasses during the day would be a must. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-barbies-real-life-measurements/120708/18 "2002-07-26T23:11:52Z")
> [@](#): > > she would be forced to get around on all fours. How do you think she got the Corvette? 😃 [sub]Oh, come on, you were thinking it[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-barbies-real-life-measurements/120708/19 "2002-07-26T23:24:43Z")
**astro** : It’s carnivorous Barbie beasts! Able to see in the dark and crush heads with their massive 38DD breasts! Run, run for your lives, before they all tip over and die of starvation! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![chula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@chula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chula)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2002, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-barbies-real-life-measurements/120708/20 "2002-07-27T00:54:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jiHymas \* > \*\*A four-year-old was being denied a toy she loved for reasons which, at best, were incomprehensible to her. \*\* A parent’s job is to deny their children things that are bad for them for reasons that are incomprehensible to them. If children understood what was good and bad for them, then they wouldn’t need parental guidance. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-barbies-real-life-measurements/120708.md?page=2)