Barbie Doll By Marge Piercy

From the time they are born, girls are influenced by society as to who they should be, how they should look, and how they should act. Americans believe that women should be to a certain standard; pretty, feminine, and especially, thin. The pressures derive from family, media, and friends. Marge Piercy’s poem, “Barbie Doll” depicts a girl who was never recognized for her character and spent her life trying to be accepted for who she was, rather than how she looked.

The poem, "Barbie Doll," written by Marge Piercy tells the story of a young girl growing up through the adolescence stage characterized by appearances and barbarity. The author uses imagery and fluctuating tone to describe the struggles the girl is experiencing during her teenage years, and the affects that can happen. The title of this poem is a good description of how most societies expect others, especially girls to look. Constantly, people are mocked for their appearance and expected to represent a "barbie-doll"-like figure. Few are "blessed" with this description. The female gender is positioned into the stereotype that women should be thin and beautiful. With this girl, the effects were detrimental. The first stanza describes the

Sandra Cisneros’s short story, “Barbie-Q”, describes the life of a young girl never identified by name and the less-fortunate life she and her family lead. The child explains how new toys are a rare find, but she loves Barbies. While entailing the family’s trip to the local flea market, she and her sister find Barbie dolls with water and smoke damaged. The main girl states the flaws of the Barbie, but counters with the positivity of having any dolls to play with. Through this struggle, however, the girl learns to cope with the gender roles and standards set by her peers and neighbors, particularly for women. Cisneros writes with these ideas in relation to her own childhood, motivated by the social standards of gender roles and body image in relation to the Barbie.

Barbie has been the face that many girls all over the world have looked up to for 50 plus years. Since her debut in 1959, she has undergone so minor design changes and has even added a couple of friends. There were a few authors who wrote articles and poems about Barbie. Among the authors, Hilary Tham who wrote a poem called Barbie Shoes. Tham did mention some prejudices with Barbie shoes that can be compared to today’s society. She used words such as “useless” and “mismatch” which could detail that most Americans put things down in the basement to preserve for their children and grandchildren. Although Barbie shoes are “useless” and “mismatch” they still reintroduce newcomers with a like spark from the old shoes but go buy new Barbie shoes

Just from looking at the title of the poem, we can see that the author believes society's expectations of women are unrealistic. A barbie doll is supposed to be a figure of a “perfect” woman that is tall, skinny, and flawless. This look is obviously unachievable for a human being to accomplish. Barbie dolls are also only given to young girls. They are shown at a young age what they are supposed to look like and how they are supposed to act. This is where girls are first introduced to their female roles in society. A doll is fake and made of plastic, incapable of being intelligent and having a mind of its own. These are the issues that Piercy addresses throughout her poem “Barbie Doll.”

The Poem “Barbie Doll (1969)” by Marge Piercy describes the life of a young girl who fell victim to society’s idea of beauty. Marge Piercy was a known social activist and uses this poem to bring attention to serious issues facing young females in society. “Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy is a narrative poem; the poem is written in free verse. The author selects a free form of poetry and other devices to help get her point across.

Like Georgiana in “The Birthmark”, women often find themselves striving to reach society’s expectation of beauty and perfection. In Marge Piercy’s poem “Barbie Doll”, a young girl is finally able to reach society’s version of beauty but she must die to do so. Piercy criticizes the ways “women are socialized into stereotypical feminine behavior” (“Overview: “Barbie Doll”, para. 1) in this poem and suggests that the pressure put on women to meet certain standards of beauty and behavior is destructive. The poem opens with the birth of a “girlchild” and all the “typical toys” that go along with it. When the girl hits puberty, her classmates begin to make fun of her big nose and fat legs. The girl is intelligent and healthy, but the other children only see the imperfections in her appearance. She is told she should behave “coy” and always wear a smile, but the teasing takes its’ toll. She cuts off her nose and legs and offers them up

In Marge Piercy's "Barbie Doll" a young girl is troubled by the classification of what it takes to become a beautiful woman. "Barbie Doll" details the image that society projects upon women. From an early age young women struggle to conform to the standards that society has defined for them. Beautiful dolls such as Barbie are frequently the first source of association that young girls have with the image that society has placed upon them.

“Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy is about a girl who is a normal child growing up; playing with dolls, miniature kitchen items and pretend make-up. It quickly takes an interesting turn when a pubescent child makes fun of her nose and legs and she was advised to exercise and diet despite the fact that she was intelligent and healthy. The poem continues on by the girl cutting her legs and nose and a bizarre visual of her laying in a casket with an ending that states “to every woman a happy ending”( Piercy 791). This poem was written by Piercy in 1969 a year in which many women liberation groups were forming and the breaking of womanly roles was taking place. The poem “Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy,

In this day and age, especially in American society, women and young girls are too often targeted to dislike their self image. Thanks to media, magazines, models, and society standards, the image of a normal woman has been twisted into an unobtainable image. Marge Piercy 's “Barbie Doll” perfectly defines this thought, and shadows a woman who feeds into the pressure of a superior image. Let it be noticed that this piece was written in the late 60 's, and compare the harsh and drastic change from the “perfect woman” from that day and age to now. The comparison is exquisite, seeing as the pressure was so strong in that day and age, and even more so now. The pressure for the perfect image has been and will be an ongoing race.

The American Poet, novelist and social activist Marge Piercy, wrote the poem “Barbie Doll” in 1969, a year in which many women’s liberation groups were forming and feminism was rising around the world. “Barbie Doll” explores many themes to do with womanhood, and leaves a significant influence on the reader. The poem uses tone and imagery to convey the idea that it is absurd that society portrays appearance to be the most valued quality in a woman. The poem also uses figurative language, such as similes, to convey that for many young girls, growing up seems to not be about becoming yourself but rather about fitting in, and becoming what society wants you to be.

Marge Percy “Barbie Doll” is a social commentary about the demanding pressures that the mass media produces about how women should look like and what type of body they should have. Women in the 1970s faced high standards and these standards still go on to this day. These high demands lead women to go above and beyond to meet standards that society has placed upon them. Some of these drastic measures can lead to consequences. In “Barbie Doll” the main character decided to undergo plastic surgery to fix her “big nose” and “fat legs”. Unfortunately she ended up dying in her struggle to meet the standard that the media has placed on her at an exceptionally young age. Her untimely death is a symbol and the theme of the poem that these women will work themselves to death to meet societies demands and most of the time it is all for nothing. All this women wanted was people to accept the way she looked and not critique her looks and it was not until her funeral day, when it no longer mattered, that she finally got that acceptance.