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Here's why the 'Barbie feet' trend is taking over your Instagram feed

It's less weird than wearing high heels to the beach, but only slightly.
Kourtney Kardashian, Barbie Feet
@Kourtneykardash/Instagram
/ Source: TODAY

Scrolling through Instagram lately, you may have noticed a theme in many of the posed pictures.

In addition to sharing the usual summer-y seaside shots (of which there's no shortage), some of the most followed names on the app — like Selena Gomez and Hailey Baldwin — have adopted a pose called “Barbie feet” for their beach and bikini selfies.

So what are Barbie feet? The pose, which was initially given its name by Who, What, Wear U.K., involves standing on your tiptoes for a photograph — a la the Barbie doll — as if you were wearing an invisible pair of high heels.

The idea is that posing on the balls of your feet elongates your legs the same way that heels would, but looks slightly more normal (and arguably more comfortable?) than, say, actually wearing high heels at the pool or the beach. From the front, it’s difficult to tell that the Barbie pose is even happening, but from the back or side the balancing act is a bit more obvious.

Barbie, Barbie Feet
The real-life inspiration for "Barbie Feet." Mattel

In addition to becoming the pose of choice for Baldwin and Gomez, Barbie feet have popped up on the feeds of celebrities like Kourtney Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid and Chanel Iman, among many, many others. If you hadn’t noticed it before, be warned: Now that you know about it, you’re going to spot it everywhere.

This is hardly the first time a singular pose has become an influencer favorite and taken our feeds by storm. Last summer it was “The Bambi Pose,” which involves tucking your legs underneath your body like a baby deer, and in the fall it was “The Pasta Pose,” in which influencers staged shots of themselves eating pasta. Sure, none of these are particularly natural looking, but they do happen to make for some double tap-worthy photos.

And isn't that the whole point?