A real-life ‘Barbie’ firefighter was trolled for wearing makeup as she encouraged more women into the profession.
Emily Rose posed with a firefighter Barbie doll whose motto is ‘You can be anything’ at her station in Amesbury, Wiltshire.
She donned her uniform, wore pink nail varnish and had her blonde hair in a side ponytail just like the toy.
The station posted the photo on Facebook, writing: ‘See, even Barbie can become a firefighter. She’s inspiring and showing the next generation they can be anything.
‘Only 4% of firefighters around the world are women. Why not join us as an on-call firefighter just like Barbie’s buddy Emily?’
The message was widely supported, but one woman wrote: ‘Real female firefighters aren’t allowed to wear makeup. Standards please’.
The now-deleted comment, which was posted by Claire Williamson, provoked a backlash online, with Laura Lou Hobbs labelling it ‘disgusting’.
Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Service issued a statement in defence of Ms Rose on its official Facebook page.
The service wrote: ‘We’re aware that this post has been shared across Facebook and has caused some negativity.
‘We’re happy to accept all men and women who want to help their local communities whether or not they wear makeup and nail varnish – as our policy shows.’
Ms Hobbs said: ‘So much for support, this is why women don’t want to join, too much judgement and criticism from others. Disgusting really.’
Drew Heaslip said: ‘Claire Williamson if you are ever trapped in a fire we’ll tell this woman NOT to rescue you since she has nail varnish and makeup on and isn’t a real firefighter.’
Kristen Emma said: ‘Real women have got other women’s backs and he build them up not tear them down.’
Another said: ‘I’m sure nail varnish and makeup don’t affect the way she performs on duty.’
Assistant chief fire officer Andy Cole said: ‘We welcome the introduction of a Barbie firefighter doll as this highlights our commitment to a diverse workforce.’
Ms Rose said she has ‘inspired two women to sign up this week’.
Firefighter Barbie was unveiled by London Fire Brigade in March 2019 as part of a campaign on tackling sexism.
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