Barbie Doll

Marge Piercy's poem Barbie Doll is written in free verse and represents the author's 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 "a great big nose and fat legs" (Piercy, 1973, 1). Only after she has died from cutting off her nose and legs do others perceive the speaker as being "pretty" (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 "girlchild" 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 "presented dolls that did pee-pee / and miniature GE stoves and irons / and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy" (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 - to cook, to clean, to make herself up - seem in vain when a classmate tells her she has a "big nose and fat legs," (Piercy, 1973, 1). The

Related Essays

Marge Piercy's "Barbie Doll" Marge Piercy's "Barbie Doll" is a poem which uses the idea of the Barbie Doll in its positive and negative aspects to develop a theme related to a real woman .... (774 3 )

Analyses of 13 Poems The opening line of this .... The title points to the ideal of the perfect woman, an ideal held by many men and fostered by the Barbie Doll, which many believe inculcates young girls into .... (2800 11 )

Theme of Oppressed Women We know, of .... discussion. First of all, in Marge Piercy's Barbie Doll, the social conditions are those of women who are less than the ideal. We .... (1717 7 )

Social Construction of Gender .... In Marge Piercy's poem "Barbie Doll", we see a female speaker who is described as others as being "pretty" only after she dies from cutting off her nose and .... (2050 8 )

Identity and Body Experience .... In one experience, she describes being a "problem child" to her parents, because she does not want a white Barbie doll like all children typically receives. .... (1497 6 )

Category: Literature -