Barbie Doll
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Marge PiercyÆs poem Barbie Doll is written in free verse and represents the authorÆs attack on patriarchal construction of idealized female appearance. In the poem, the speaker describes her life as a child, one that was fine until she learned at puberty she was perceived as having ôa great big nose and fat legsö (Piercy, 1973, 1). Only after she has died from cutting off her nose and legs do others perceive the speaker as being ôprettyö (Piercy, 1973, 1). In this poem, Piercy is trying to attract the attention of all women, young or old, who continue to judge themselves based on idealized images of female appearances constructed by men in a patriarchal society. Piercy provides us with a story of a young woman who commits suicide because she is judged and confined by the idealized standards constructed by others. The ôgirlchildö was raised in all the ways that fit in with the norms and values of gender, particularly femininity. We are told she has a typical birth and was ôpresented dolls that did pee-pee / and miniature GE stoves and irons / and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candyö (Piercy, 1973, 1). In this we see that society often constructs notions of gender and then reinforces those notions by the way they rear boys and girls. The girlchild reaches puberty and the values she has been taught û to cook, to clean, to make herself up û seem in vain when a classmate tells her she has a ôbig nose and fat legs,ö (Piercy, 1973, 1). The
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Approximate Word count = 1011
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page)
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