Unrealistic Standards In Marge Piercy's Barbie Doll

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The poem, Barbie Doll by Marge Piercy, leads us to believe that the poem is about a beautiful girl, one that looks like a Barbie that is sold in stores. It does not turn out to be a beautiful girl but about a teenage girl that’s been judged her entire life and is now compared to a perfect being, like Barbie. The poem is an unraveling tail of a beautiful, intelligent girl trying to satisfy everybody’s unrealistic standards of what she should be. The speaker starts the poem announcing the birth of a “girl child”, never using her actual name in the poem. When she was young, she was viewed differently because she had a different kind of doll than other children did in her class. When she grew into her teen years, her classmates started judging her because she had a big nose and thick legs and that she was not a beautiful, slim figure that everyone loves. Soon, everyone around her had this comparison toward her and in unrealistic body, never noticing her true beauty. Barbie was viewed as a blond, beautiful, and perfect girl and that is how they wanted the “girl child” to look. These standards are very hard for a typical person to meet. …show more content…

Their standards for the girl child was like Barbie; perfect, unrealistic standards to meet. Other than her nose and her legs, overall, she was a smart, healthy, strong human being. As for her personality, they wanted her to be a coy, good, and smiling person; not herself. Trying to meet the unrealistic expectations society has lied down for her, it became too overwhelming. Her fat nose and thick legs that people saw blocked others from seeing how perfect she really was when she was herself. Due to the stress of trying to meet these expectations, she cut off her nose and legs and as for the results, she

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