Barbie Doll Essay

The Barbie doll has long been the staple toy for little girls across America; however, it has also been known for stirring up controversy for the message that it sends to girls about body image and its enforcement of the female stereotype. With her poem, “Barbie Doll,” Marge Piercy criticizes society’s expectations for females during the 70’s feminist movement. The poem follows a young girl who grows up to be a healthy, intelligent young woman but is constantly criticized for her appearance, until

The poem “Barbie Doll” lays out words that support traditional gender roles while also giving the reader a sense of irony by using harsher language to describe events of the woman's life. Certain statements within the text use tender descriptions and stereotypes of females that come into this world, who are naturally expected to wear "cherry candy" colored lipstick and play with "dolls that did pee-pee." These stereotypes extend into womanhood, wherein she is expected to look a certain way, with

philosophy of Barbie was that through the doll, the little girl could be anything she wanted to be. Barbie always represented the fact that a woman has choices,” Ruth says. (Inc, n.d) Ruth and Elliot Handler are the founders of Mattel creation and in 1959 the world was given the “Barbie” doll. (Inc, n.d.) The Barbie doll was introduced to a small toy fair costing $3. The Barbie doll was the first doll to be sold that doesn’t look, “like a baby” but more like a woman. The Barbie doll is an iconic doll available

Margie Piercy’s poem, “Barbie Doll” portrays the power that society holds on an individual's life. The Barbie doll, not actually mentioned in the poem, is a symbol for the expectations society holds a woman accountable for their entire life. Society expects women to put on this persona of the perfect image; healthy, fit, well dressed, always putting the husbands needs in front of her own. Piercy’s poem exemplifies the standard that woman are held too and the horrors of how society can change a person

“Design” and “Barbie Doll”: Compare and Contrast Throughout time, poets have explored the world by writing about nature and humanity. Writers contemplate beauty, relationships, cultural beliefs, and death. “Design” by Robert Frost, depicts a spider preparing to devour a moth. Through this natural illustration, “Humanity, according to Frost, is as unprotected as the moth on a flower and as dangerous as the spider” (Anderson). Marge Piercy portrays the effects cultural influences have upon a woman

The poems Flower Feet and Barbie Doll both show the painful struggle of women trying to be beautiful. Both poems differ in content because one focused on a traditional custom while the other revolved around one negative comment. However both poems show that women have always been expected to modify themselves to fit the ideal image. It is a shame to see that society has not changed much since these poems were written. The Chinese custom of feet-binding (the topic discussed in Flower Feet), died out

Marge Piercy once wrote a poem “Barbie Doll”. In the poem, she described all the little details about this girl. Those details include “dolls that did pee-pee/and miniature GE stoves and irons/and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy” (2, 3, 4) and “You have a great/big nose and fat legs” (6, 7). After the last line above, this girl did not meet society’s expectations and was called out to change. This led to all sorts of trouble and eventually, the girl committing suicide. From all of this, I

a similar message that resonance with its audience. Barbie Doll by Marge Piercy and The Death of Marilyn Monroe by Sharon Olds express how beauty weighs women’s lives and cause a tragic end from being the perfect specimen. Both discuss a similar theme but carry the message out a difference way. In order to understand its similarities and differences it is necessary to analyze the text to find its denotation and connotation. The poems Barbie Doll and The Death of Marilyn Monroe share the themes of

Austin EN460f – Seminar Paper Wednesday, November 14, 2012 Barbie and the Notion of Progression Since the emergence of the Barbie doll in 1959, Barbie has been a populous choice among young children, and more specifically young girls because of its monopolization of the toy market. Barbie is a doll that has been outwardly controversial and debated upon for years and most likely will be for many years to come. The idea of the Barbie doll is a toy for which young girls model themselves after and aspire

billboards, and even childhood toys. Airbrushed models in photo shoot spreads and Barbie Dolls of unnatural proportions belie how the average, real woman looks. Marge Piercy criticizes society’s quixotic “beauty” through a satirical account of a girl who succumbed to the pressures of society and ultimately ended her life due to her shortcomings of how the world expected her to appear and behave. In her poem, “Barbie Doll,” Marge Piercy utilizes metaphors in order to indirectly mock and condemn the image