coolest. She had all those jobs and her great boyfriend Ken. But as we grew older the perception of our world changed and turned a little less pink. We would look in the mirror and find something new that we would want to change every day. Marge Piercy’s “Barbie Doll” takes us on that journey from start to end and sheds light on how blind we really are. The poem begins with a young girl being born and how she was provided with all the toys that a young girl would enjoy. But once she hits puberty, she
become rigidly defined in children between the ages of five and seven. (Martin and Ruble2004) In the poem Barbie Doll by Marge Piercy, we are confronted with the messages we send through the toys we choose or do not choose for girls. The poem recounts the life of a woman, who was born just like any other girl. She played with all of the little girl’s toys like toy ovens, irons, baby dolls, and even lipstick. She seems content until puberty when someone informs her she has a big nose and fat legs
usually a child’s favorite play toy. In the poem, “The Barbie Doll” it represents the unrealistic conform of what women should be like to fit in society. The poem was written in the 1960s, and ironically the same issues in “Barbie Doll” is a major problem that still exist today. “The Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy uses several literary elements to demonstrate a little girl expectations to live up to what society defines as feminine. “The Barbie Doll” is a narrative poem written in four stanzas with no
appearance” (Cash). In the poem “Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy the main character symbolizes all females. The poem focuses on the socially constructed body image for women and it’s effect not only on the main character’s life, but also on all women in general. From birth she is raised to be a certain way by the standards of society. In an attempt to fit in, her life ends and only then does she achieve consummation. At birth, the main character was “presented dolls” (Piercy 334) which influenced her
Barbie is Undermining Female Individuality Burke's theory of performativity exposes gender constructionism as detrimental to female society in Marge Piercy’s poem, “Barbie Doll.” The poem’s dual purpose criticises and promotes awareness of gender positioning in a heteronormative society. Oppressive and deadly, conforming to traditional female gender roles is an unconscious act. The temporal storyline of the poem illustrates an increase in social pressure to conform to traditional female gender