Barbie Doll And Homage To My Hips Analysis

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.

Both of these poems portray two views of individuals by society. The girl in The Barbie Doll was healthy and intelligent, yet everyone still focused on her fat legs and big nose. This led the girl to do as much as she could to please those around her. This outlook can be compared to how women are portrayed in our society today. As we, women, look through magazines we are greeted by tiny women with big chests. Some of us feel that this is the way all women should look. Those who feel this way will do all that they can do to look like these models. Many women in our society are anorexic and bulimic, could this be because of society's portrayal of women? I believe so.

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

Next is about “Barbie Doll” written by Marge Piercy. For generations, every girl have seen and played will Barbie doll and many have always wanted to become just like her: the party girl, career women and the beauty queen all in one. In Marge Piercy’s poem, the title “Barbie Doll” is about a girl who fatally entrapped by society’s idea of every girl should be perfect from head to toes. “In the casket displayed on satin she lay…, dressed in a pink and white nightie.” (Barbie Doll, p522) Piercy uses a girl character and

Hippie Barbie, written by Denise Duhamel uses the symbols of the contemporary life of the fairy-tale lifestyle into reality. The words and ideas used in this narrative poem give fantasy a different perspective. It is inferred that the speaker is a female Barbie specialist, who reflects her knowledge by using the popular Barbie doll as the main character. Throughout the poem, she gives key points that have female perspective; for instance, kissing Ken, thinking about having mixed-race children, and walking a poodle. She establishes a story-telling tone, which introduces Hippie Barbie as a real woman. The speaker is trying to address to all Americans that know deeper into Barbie doll life. By using the word “hippie” she gives a sense of

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.

When reading a story, people do not often think about how much it might relate to another story they have read in the past. In “The Birthmark” Georgiana simply wants her unique birthmark removed from her face. Similarly, in “Barbie Doll” the unnamed young lady wants her nose and legs removed. In both of these stories the reader can see that these women are chasing society’s idea of perfection. The short story “The Birthmark” written by Nathaniel Hawthorne and the poem “Barbie Doll” written by Marge Piercy have almost the exact same theme because both of these short works of fiction are about a woman that is influenced by her peers to become

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.

In both “Bitch Planet” and “Barbie Doll”, the authors aimed to exemplify the unrealistic body image that women are facing. “Bitch Planet” is about a futurist world where larger women are shamed for being larger rather than stick thin like the women in the advertisements and media. The writer uses a comic format and futuristic setting to display a setting that feels realistic. In “Barbie Doll” it talks about a girl who is made fun of for her small differences in physical appearance, even though she was perfectly healthy and normal. They each show how the body images set by men and other women effect how they feel about their own bodies. They each follow similar topics however; they have different techniques as well as time frames for conveying them.

The theme of “Homage to My Hips” is first expressed to the reader through the poem’s speaker. The author made a smart decision in choosing a speaker who was confident and matter-a-fact about her opinion. From the beginning of the poem the speaker tells the readers, “these hips are big hips”(779). It is clear that the speaker is aware of how she looks, but she does not care what people think about her image. The speaker is taking a stand by explaining that “these hips” do not “fit into little/ pretty places” contrary to what society states(780). The speaker directly advocates the author’s theme while discussing her hips. The interesting choice made by the author is to not give any description of the woman’s physical appliance other than what her hips look like and how they act. Clifton is hinting at a deeper meaning. The speaker is not interested in how her hips look as much as how her hips act. The reader knows what kind of woman the speaker is based solely off of the actions of her hips, not by image. The speaker uses powerful words such

“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,

This poem dramatizes the conflict between society’s perspective on normal and what is actually normal when it comes to appearances. The name of the poem “Barbie Doll” is an allusion to barbies. The speaker of this piece began by stating “the girlchild was born as usual” meaning the child that was born was the image of normal. The speaker states that a girlchild was born and was a normal little girl that played with barbies by saying “as usual” (line 1). A classmate of the child informed her that she had a “great big nose and fat legs” (6).