Marge Piercy Barbie Doll

Marge Piercy's poem, “Barbie Doll” clearly makes a huge statement about what society does to a women in particular and the damage that is done to women by our society. It also describes that our society objectifies women and values them only for their looks. Women are driven by this pressure to do damaging things in an effort to live up to society’s expectations. This poem describes the effect of unrealistic expectations of beauty on a young girl. It also appears to be telling us a tragically twisted fairy tale. Unfortunately, although the girl is healthy she is teased in puberty for having fat legs and a big nose. Even though she has potential, she spends all of her time “apologizing” for her nose and legs. When she complains, the advice that is given to her does not help. “She was advised to play coy, exhorted to come on hearty, exercise, diet, smile and wheedle” (Stanza 3). This advice tells her the gender roles yet again. She should be a perfect girl. This is what society tells her, in the form of movies, television, books, magazines, and pop culture. As many feminists have pointed out, the Barbie has completely unrealistic proportions, to a degree where its influence has been thought to have a negative effect on girls' body images. The speaker of Marge Piercy's poem "Barbie Doll" is …show more content…
The title is "Barbie Doll" and it is this plastic, overly perfect object which is a symbol for everything society expects of a young girl (and older women as well). It is an unrealistic standard and an unachievable goal, which becomes obvious when the young girl in the poem cannot live to the standard and takes her own life. Finally, the imagery (another literary device) of the poem is that which appeals to the senses. Describing the cutting, for example, is a visual, physical (touch), and olfactory (smell) image. There are plenty of others to be found, including the visual image of "fat nose and thick