Societal Expectations In Marge Piercy's Barbie Doll
Barbie Doll
Barbie Doll by Marge Piercy
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.
Then in the magic of puberty, a classmate said:
You have a great big nose and fat legs.
She was healthy, tested intelligent, possessed strong arms and back, abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity.
She went to and fro apologizing.
Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs.
She was advised to play coy, exhorted to come on hearty, exercise, diet, smile and wheedle.
Her good nature wore out like a fan belt.
So she cut off her nose and her legs and offered them up.
In the casket displayed on satin she lay with the undertaker's cosmetics …show more content…
From the time she was born, she was presented dolls that did “pee-pee and miniature GE stoves and irons and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy”, which exposed her unknowingly, to the standards and expectations of our society. From the baby doll that went “pee-pee” to the “miniature GE stoves and irons” unconsciously taught the young girl how to care for a baby, cook and iron clothes-all the stereotypical chores that society places on females. The “wee lipsticks” showed her how to apply makeup as the dolls, or Barbie’s, represented presumptions of the way that she should look. All these expectations, unintentionally wrapped around her mind like a rubber band. The rubber band could not stretch anymore and once the rubber band finally tore when she hit puberty it sent a rush of attentiveness over her, when one of her classmates announced to her that “you have a great big nose and fat legs.” To the girl, those nine simple words were not simply an act of immaturity from a young peer, but completely heart-breaking. From there on out, she realized that she did not fit in and grasped that her efforts to conform to society weren’t involuntary anymore. Because she didn’t fit in “she went to and fro apologizing” for her “fat nose on thick legs” which was all anyone …show more content…
She describes the young female with all these amazing qualities to show that there was nothing really wrong with the girl. The unrealistic pressures that are placed on young girls during the duration of their lives come together as the theme of the poem. Piercy is symbolizing her death as in giving up or conforming to today’s society and by symbolizing the undertaker as a plastic surgeon. Many females in today’s society feel as if their looks are not up to par with what “they should look like”, by comparing themselves to celebrities and media pressures to losing weight or applying make-up to themselves. She uses the perfect word choice when she wrote in the beginning of the poem, girl child because she allows the reader to understand that everyone is born “as usual” and innocent from society’s harsh realizations of what it would be perceived as perfect. The mood of the poem is very heartbreaking because this poor young girl was perfect in an overall healthy and natural way, but outside stresses brainwashed her to believe otherwise that led her to kill herself instead of metaphorically dying by conforming to society. This poem is a harsh realization for all females put on us from dolls, media and peers all have a subliminal effect on all young women. Metonymy is used when Piercy uses Barbie doll as its title, by comparing
Barbie Doll by Marge Piercy
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.
Then in the magic of puberty, a classmate said:
You have a great big nose and fat legs.
She was healthy, tested intelligent, possessed strong arms and back, abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity.
She went to and fro apologizing.
Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs.
She was advised to play coy, exhorted to come on hearty, exercise, diet, smile and wheedle.
Her good nature wore out like a fan belt.
So she cut off her nose and her legs and offered them up.
In the casket displayed on satin she lay with the undertaker's cosmetics …show more content…
From the time she was born, she was presented dolls that did “pee-pee and miniature GE stoves and irons and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy”, which exposed her unknowingly, to the standards and expectations of our society. From the baby doll that went “pee-pee” to the “miniature GE stoves and irons” unconsciously taught the young girl how to care for a baby, cook and iron clothes-all the stereotypical chores that society places on females. The “wee lipsticks” showed her how to apply makeup as the dolls, or Barbie’s, represented presumptions of the way that she should look. All these expectations, unintentionally wrapped around her mind like a rubber band. The rubber band could not stretch anymore and once the rubber band finally tore when she hit puberty it sent a rush of attentiveness over her, when one of her classmates announced to her that “you have a great big nose and fat legs.” To the girl, those nine simple words were not simply an act of immaturity from a young peer, but completely heart-breaking. From there on out, she realized that she did not fit in and grasped that her efforts to conform to society weren’t involuntary anymore. Because she didn’t fit in “she went to and fro apologizing” for her “fat nose on thick legs” which was all anyone …show more content…
She describes the young female with all these amazing qualities to show that there was nothing really wrong with the girl. The unrealistic pressures that are placed on young girls during the duration of their lives come together as the theme of the poem. Piercy is symbolizing her death as in giving up or conforming to today’s society and by symbolizing the undertaker as a plastic surgeon. Many females in today’s society feel as if their looks are not up to par with what “they should look like”, by comparing themselves to celebrities and media pressures to losing weight or applying make-up to themselves. She uses the perfect word choice when she wrote in the beginning of the poem, girl child because she allows the reader to understand that everyone is born “as usual” and innocent from society’s harsh realizations of what it would be perceived as perfect. The mood of the poem is very heartbreaking because this poor young girl was perfect in an overall healthy and natural way, but outside stresses brainwashed her to believe otherwise that led her to kill herself instead of metaphorically dying by conforming to society. This poem is a harsh realization for all females put on us from dolls, media and peers all have a subliminal effect on all young women. Metonymy is used when Piercy uses Barbie doll as its title, by comparing