In a world where many are led to believe that they fall short of what society depicts as “perfect”, it is still true that everyone is beautiful in their own way. There are even more demands on girls now a days than there has ever been before. Some may think they need to fit in, so they become someone they are not or they begin to act like a totally different person. “Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy, illustrates society’s high and unrealistic expectations on the physical appearance of women, while failing to see that a woman’s self-esteem is at risk of being diminished. In the beginning of “Barbie Doll”, pleasurable and unpleasurable imagery is given so that the reader can see the extremes girls go through to be considered perfect. …show more content…
The first stanza describes the Barbie Doll and her accessories. It is also stating how the girl was just a normal person, but at the end of the stanza, it shows how she is being tormented by one of her classmates. “Wee lipsticks” is some form of makeup that helps cover the flaws that one has; which are seen as perfection; such as not looking the way one sees as perfect. However, the iron is what helps ameliorate the clothes. The girl in this poem was technically raised to be perfect, she was surrounded by perfection. She was happy with the way she looked before until the classmate told her “you have a great big nose and fat legs” (6). Through the comments, the girl was forced to believe she was anything but prefect and fell short of the Barbie Doll image. The girls self-esteem begins to …show more content…
Everyone dreams of being “perfect”, but what they don’t know is that they are perfect. One just has to see within themselves. Everyone is uniquely and secretly beautiful, but that gets taken away because it is not what society wants. What society wants is for women’s self-esteem to be broken so that they can be morphed into a product of someone else's idea of perfect. In “Barbie Doll” Piercy argues that the pressures put on women by society affect their self-esteem. No one needs to change who they are for anyone. If anyone wants to change, they should change for themselves! Being you is all that really matters. The key to beauty is confidence. Something that everyone should keep in mind is that, don’t let someone change who you are, to become what they need; otherwise you don’t need them in your
In Marge Piercy’s, “Barbie Doll,” we see the effect that society has on the expectations of women. A woman, like the girl described in ‘Barbie Doll’, should be perfect. She should know how to cook and clean, but most importantly be attractive according to the impossible stereotypes of womanly beauty. Many women in today’s society are compared to the unrealistic life and form of the doll. The doll, throughout many years, has transformed itself from a popular toy to a role model for actual women. The extremes to which women take this role model are implicated in this short, yet truthful poem.
The poem, "Barbie Doll," written by Marge Piercy tells the story of a young girl growing up through the adolescence stage characterized by appearances and barbarity. The author uses imagery and fluctuating tone to describe the struggles the girl is experiencing during her teenage years, and the affects that can happen. The title of this poem is a good description of how most societies expect others, especially girls to look. Constantly, people are mocked for their appearance and expected to represent a "barbie-doll"-like figure. Few are "blessed" with this description. The female gender is positioned into the stereotype that women should be thin and beautiful. With this girl, the effects were detrimental. The first stanza describes the influence that a child is placed into during early childhood. Girls are expected to play with "dolls" and "stoves and irons," the usual toys that relate to the old-fashioned duties of women. A young girl begins to learn what she should be for society and not to deviate from the norm. The tone used in this stanza is quite silent and simplistic at first,...
The Barbie is a plastic, man-made female toy, which has perfect facial symmetry, unnatural body dimensions, and perfectly unblemished white skin. In Chris Semansky’s Overview of “Barbie Doll,” he explains that the Barbie “is invented to show women have been socialized into thinking of their bodies and behavior in relation to a male-controlled idea” (Semansky). The title directly alludes to the Barbie toy, which represents a design of a man-made construction of the female image that shows an unnatural human form that could only exist inside the imagination of men. Throughout both “Barbie Doll” and “The Birthmark” you will find the female protagonists seeking an ultimately perfect form, free of the characteristics that those around them see as unworthy. It is as if they are chasing the blueprint of perfection that is present in the Barbie. The original Barbie came with three outfits a bathing suit, a tennis outfit, and a wedding dress (Semansky). Her outfits clearly symbolize restrictions forced on female privilege, identity, and autonomy, where “she embodies the ideals and values of her middle-class American community” who expect her to “spend her days at the country club and her afternoons cooking dinner for her husband” (Semansky). This is directly similar to the “outfits” those around the women in “Barbie Doll” where the girlchild is born
The poem “ Barbie Doll” discusses, how society has a hold on individual's lives, especially on women. It is compelling the women to stop being themselves, and become somebody else in order to please the society. We always have to keep society in our consideration, before doing anything because the society in which we are living, always judge us on trivial things. Society tells us how to dress up and act, and have to look a certain way to be accepted. It is so sad to see that this poem, was written in 1973 by Marge Piercy, but even now we realize that nothing has changed and same barrier are still ruling our lives.
Too many people have had their minds fixed on the ideas that the perfect women should be a “lady” embodying the image of a Barbie, the only known flawless character known to our human species or the ideal man should have to live up to the unachievable expectations of every females dream of being 6’7 with an abdominal structure of a firefighter and a P.H.D in law. These expectations are extremely high and are impossible to obtain. Living in a materialistic environment influences children to adapt to trends and sudden changes to make themselves appear more passable for the people around them. The children of our generation have been infected with a disease called insecurity. TV shows and music videos have made the wrong idea of what people should look like and act like. The world should create better influences, end all violence, and have better places to live for the children of the future.
Urla, J., & Swedlund, A. C. (1995). The Anthropometry of Barbie: unsettling ideals of the feminine body in popular culture. In J. Terry & J. Urla (Eds.). Deviant Bodies. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
At the request of many who say that Barbie gives an overly sexualized image of women to children, Barbie has undergone several breast reductions and waist-widening modifications to make her more acceptable not in the eyes of children, but in the eyes of the children’s parents. Even though her height has remained rather irrelevant through her 55 years of being alive, Barbie has been produced with several different feminine physiques and many different skin colors in an attempt to satisfy outraged people. She started out as a fashion doll that needed unrealistic proportions to help her numerous outfits fit better, but somewhere along the way her harmless journey became stained with the accusations of feminists. Even after takin...
Marge Piercy is a poet who often writes about women’s movements. During the 1960s, she was involved with Students for a Democratic Society, but her interests in the women’s movement became the focus of her writing. This focus is apparent in her poem ‘Barbie Doll’ where she expresses her feminist views of the image society portrays of the perfect woman. Piercy’s description of the girl in ‘Barbie Doll’ is a reflection of herself and her personal experiences with sexism in life. However, unlike the girlchild in “Barbie Doll,” Piercy did not allow herself to be driven by society’s male driven image of what the perfect woman should be. Instead, she used her writing as a platform to speak out against such sexist stereotypes ("Barbie
Stanza two I found to be more explanatory in the article, “Barbie Doll” and “G.I. Joe”: Exploring Issues of Gender by Robert Perr. Perr of course states what the second stanza is bluntly saying to describe the young girl and her progression through puberty. What I was surprised by, was Perr’s literary analysis of it. He says, “however, the aggressively positive characteristics are balanced by a grim yet simple line: “she went to and fro apologizing” (10). Students do not miss the sad rhythmic emphasis that “to and fro” provides”. He’s saying that to give the poem that tone, it needs that one saddening line to make you sense that defeat. Perr, Robert. “Barbie Doll” and “G.I. Joe”: Exploring Issues of Gender.” The English Journal, Vol. 88, No. 3 (Jan, 1999): 83-85.
Societies standard change every year. Women are constantly overwhelmed to attain a standard of beauty that is equivalent to perfection. Women are judged by their looks more than any other aspect. In the poems “Cinderella”, “Barbie Doll” and “The Applicant”, the authors illustrate that many people falsify their bodies in order to conform to society. In these poems the authors suggest that the standards of society are more constraining to women than men.
Stone, Tanya Lee. The Good, the Bad, and the Barbie: A Doll's History and Her Impact on Us. New York: Penguin Group, 2010. Print.
According to Lisa Belkin, Barbie is good for society because she’s fun to play with and she encourages little girls to use their imagination and dream big. Many young girls who play with Barbie dolls have realized that she is just a doll. Some of these little girls don’t have the desire to look like Barbie; they just think Barbie is just a doll that they play with and leave them everywhere. At a young age girls are given their first Barbie doll and thought what “perfect” should be. Barbie portrays the perfect image and life. Not only is Barbie tall, skinny, and beautiful, she has all the luxurious accessories to match her perfect life. To go along with her perfect life she is accompanied with the perfect boyfriend, family and dream house.At a young age girls are also being influenced by this doll, what they should look like, and what kind of life they sgould lead. Young girls strive to achieve this look which is life threatening to obtain. Regardless to the changes they made to Barbie, she is still far from real. Little girls that are mature enough don’t strive to look like Barbie because she’s just a plastic doll.(Debate.org, 9). According to “The Intentions behind the creation of Barbie”, Barbie dolls ...
Barbie, a doll manufactured by Mattel, Inc., encourages an unrealistic body image, racial insensitivity, and contradictive goals, and it is having a negative influence on young girls everywhere. Launched in March 1959 by Ruth Handler, an American business woman and president of Mattel, Inc., Barbie quickly became popular and has gone on to sell three dolls every second, in over one hundred and fifty countries. However, Barbie’s rise to success has not been wholly positive – there have been numerous controversies, parodies, and lawsuits, all addressing a number of issues. One such issue is how Barbie promotes an unrealistic and unobtainable body image. For example, to scale, Barbie is five feet, nine inches tall, has a thirty six inch chest, eighteen inch waist, and thirty three inch hips. Had Barbie been a real person, she would not be able to walk, much less hold her head up. Secondly, Barbie is racially insensitive and perpetuates stereotypes. “Mexico Barbie,” from Barbie’s “ethnic” line, comes with a passport and a Chihuahua, as well as stereotypical red lace ribbons in her hair. Lastly, Barbie portrays goals that are both unobtainable and contradictive. Barbie has had a variety of careers, such as being a doctor, astronaut, and President of the United States, but also engages in stereotypical domestic activities, such as cleaning and baking. These characteristics are affecting young girls in a time when they are most developmentally susceptible, and teaching them a number of negative lessons.
“Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy is the epitome of what views from society can affect you. The title itself has a deeper meaning. A Barbie doll is known for its ideal physique, perfect hair and teeth, and an incredible wardrobe. It is a fake impression of a women’s appearance that is generally played with by little girls. It is an icon around the world and role model to many young girls. Young girls are impressionable and their self-esteem is not fully mature. “This girlchild was born as usual and presented dolls that did pee-pee and miniature GE stoves and irons and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy” (Piercy). This little girl is like any other girl. She is presented with dolls to play with, and other toys to pra...
...ing that her particular poem “Barbie doll” was written in the midst of a feminist movement in America that redefined the lives of many women. It tells the story of a young girl who is insecure and disgusted with her body, because someone told her she had “fat legs and a fat nose.” So because she couldn’t fit in with society's expectations she “cut them off” and died, only to finally be admired and praised at her funeral. Too often is a story like this heard in the newspaper or on T.V, because society has forever had a hold onto individuals lives. It tells us how to dress and act in order to be accepted, and if we don’t comply then we are seen as outcasts and not treated equally. This helps me realize why she wrote this poem in the first place. Its a warning about society and clearly we haven’t fully picked up on it if we still see problems with body image occurring.