Analyzing The Poem 'Barbie Doll'

In the poem, “Barbie Doll”, we are not exactly sure who the narrator is, but we do get the sense that the narrator supports feminism. The narrator is addressing the fact the little girls are encouraged to only worry about looking “beautiful” according to society’s view on how a “perfect” woman should look. This poem also comments on how little girls are also encouraged to worry about being a house wife and mother, instead of trying to make their own place in this world and accepting themselves for who they are and what they look like. The general idea of this poem is to point out the fact that from a young age, females are encouraged to make themselves into “Barbie Dolls” by any means necessary.

Children’s child play has become a form of an unrealistic world. Although, it is considered for children to begin creating a creative imagination, the mind fascinates children into toys. Some child’s play toys are not ideal for young children, like the one and only “Barbie”. Barbie has become a worldwide toy product for children all over the world, from the North Pole to the South Pole. These dolls have emerged from one ethnicity to another. In Ann DuCille, “Dyes and Dolls: Multicultural Barbie and the Merchandising of Differences” the author talks about the race and gender differences; found in Barbie. She argues; “Is Barbie bad?” her response, was “Barbie is just a piece of plastic” (459). In contrast, this piece of plastic is not just a piece of plastic to young girls; it is much more than that. A piece of plastic that little girls all over the world wish they could be. Even though, it is only a piece of plastic to adults that Barbie significantly means nothing to them. Growing up, I owned a couple of Barbie dolls. The tall, long blond hair, blue-eyed doll was my best friend and my “role model”. I wanted to become exactly like Barbie. As a child, I thought only beautiful people who looked liked Barbie signified beauty. To my little to no knowledge, I soon came to find out no one really looks like Barbie, except people who want to become like Barbie. In my adolescent years, no one taught me Barbie was “unreal”; no one taught me it was just a figure in my imagination.

The poem, “Barbie Doll, by Marge Piercy uses imagery to convey the innocence of prepubescent childhood and cruelty that women face after puberty due to imposed societal standards. Each stanza is chronological that transitions, her innocence before “becoming a woman”, struggles of puberty, and the measures she takes to be happy. Even though the events that take place in this poem are about the unrealistic standards that women have to cope with, her use of imagery makes it seemingly fairy-tale like. Piercy employs imagery of typical toys to introduce gender norms that are overlooked and a scenario of bullying that portrays unfair societal standards towards women.

The poem Barbie Doll draws on the ever-present issue that women face striving to be accepted in terms of beauty by society’s standards. Throughout this poem, the author, Marge Piercy, communicates, through theme, form and meaning the dangers of giving into society and their expectations of women throughout each line.

The short story 'Barbie Doll ' starts off by painting an image of a young girl, who grows up with the image of a woman 's life and duties planted in her mind. “Presented with dolls, and miniature GE stoves, and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy.” (Piercy) Immediately, she was placed unknowingly into the place of a girl, the standards that we are born to do, born to be. Growing up with this most likely put that idea into her own mind, and transitioning into puberty made it all the worse. She began to change, displayed the knowledge, health and strength anyone would be lucky to have. Yet, going into puberty, “everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs.” (Piercy) I remember being that girl, not glamourous, yet not horrendous looking. I was average,

In her poem ‘ Barbie Doll,’ Marge Piercy discusses society’s expectations from women, particularly young girls. Society does expect that young girl should be perfect, like a ‘Barbie Doll’. The poem is about a character who fights with herself about having a perfect body image. This character struggles and shows that society only pays attention to physical appearance and not on inner beauty. Piercy also maintains that people put more social expectations on young girls. Lastly, she mentions that society never accepts young girls who can not be ideal women. As young girls grow up, the society wants them to look and behave a specific way, but when they give up, they might lose identities. Throughout the poem, Piercy applies vivid imagery, different word choices, and a tone of sadness and depression to make her readers more compassionate.

Society is known for holding unrealistic expectations and the pressures put on women through gender roles and stereotyping. Marge Piercy’s “Barbie Doll” is no exception, “Barbie Doll” is the story of a young girl who try’s endlessly for society’s version of perfection, but she dies trying to reach the unrealistic expectations that she is being force fed. Marge Piercy published “Barbie Doll” in 1971, during the time of second-wave feminism. The history and dedication that many women contributed during this time affected the way our society is today. The feminist movement is largely related to Marge Piercy’s literature. The purpose of “Barbie Doll” is to display how society is the issue and never the person. Marge

The poem “Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy in relation to diversity alludes to specific aspects of gender, mainly targeting the female gender perspective and expectations. In the poem, Piercy is writing about a young girl transitioning from a child to a women and how society and its idea of beauty affects her. My interpretation of the poem is that the girl is basically crying out for help saying look I am healthy, intelligent, and strong but no one sees or cares about those things because the only thing they see when they look at her is her outside appearance and what society considers to be the flaws that she possesses. Although this was written in 1936 Piercy accurately describes the feeling of being defined or constricted by society to think, act, and look a particular way which is similar to that of todays society which is fueled by social media, where some find personal gratification and self confidence fueled from likes and retweets they receive.” Barbie doll “ is the perfect title for this poem because for the longest time a Barbie was a sign of something perfect and beautiful, a toy enjoyed by everyone and a conventional symbol for little girls all over the United States. Similarly the girl was conforming to be sort of like the Barbie doll in a way because of societal expectations and the want to be viewed in a particular light by ones peers.

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

The others have a great power over her as she is under commandment "was advised; exhorted" and she is dictated to: "play coy; come on hearty; exercise; diet; smile; wheedle". The comas even insist on the accumulation of the things-to-do. She has to change her character, to be hypocrite. She is maltreated both verbally and physically. In fact, verses 15 and 16 echoes with verse 9. Her "strong back" may be hit by a belt and "her good nature" insists on her weakness, on her lack of self-confidence. She is slowly losing

Today’s society raises young women to conform to archaic practices with total disregard towards a child self-progression. In Barbie Doll poem by Marge Piercy it is portrayed a young girl who was attacked by society because of having unruly features on her appearance and body. To make clear, Piercy uses the title “Barbie Doll” in her poem to symbolize the cultural American traditions of making young girls live in a fairy tale world; where everything they see or do is perfect. The girl in this poem played with Barbie toys since she was little, but when she reached her puberty people started to criticize her of having imperfections on her face and body; which made her commit a really wrong decision for herself. In today’s society there are a large number of women having plastic surgery, because they do not feel comfortable or confident with their own appearances. Women are not just beauty queens and home makers; they should retreat from female stereotypes at a young age so they do not confront society pressure.

As I was on the hunt for the perfect gift for an 8 year old’s birthday, I discovered the doll market is quite different than my coming of age. Undoubtedly, Barbie is still problematic, but now she has competitors, including Bratz, and Monster High dolls, who are noticeably thinner than barbie and dressed up to look like grown women getting ready for a night of clubbing than a game of tennis. As I pick up the first doll box, I find a doll chained up in a slither of clothing with a blank expression on her face, a prominent thigh gap, with the tagline “GREAT for girls ages 5 and up!” By all means, I never imagined in my life that I would miss Barbie. For that reason, I begin to sit myself down in the toy aisle to start googling everything I could about these dolls on my

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.

“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,

“ideals are developmentally ingrained in children and adolescents”( Englis 1). The idea of beauty and ideal looks are engraved into people at a young age. The little girl being given a Barbie doll shows this in the poem. The idea of beauty and how a woman should act are represented in the Barbie doll. The primary take away is beauty is not everything.