Tallmadge 5
Rachel Tallmadge
Period 2
AP English
November 13, 2009
“Barbie Doll” Analysis
Marge Piercy’s poem “Barbie Doll” is a reaction to the unrealistic expectations society placed on women both physically and socially. The poem was written in 1973 during the midst of the second feminist movement. Laws, such as the Equal Rights Amendment, were in progression to improve the equality of women in society and guarantee an equal opportunity in employment. Though reform spread through the country, the popular preconceived notions of how a traditional woman behaved in society prevented the approval of most such laws on the federal level. These preconceived notions are addressed with the blunt sarcasm and irony in “Barbie Doll.” Using the connotations and denotations of “Barbie Doll,” the poem defines the traditional woman as nothing more than a play toy for the traditional man.
Until recently, Barbie has been the reigning queen of children’s toys. Every child has at least come into contact with the blond bombshell. The overwhelming influence the small Mattel toy has in the lives of young girls has sparked numerous controversies since the toy’s creation in 1959. In “Barbie Doll,” Barbie referenced is the small model of the perfect woman. “Doll,” is a pretty but often empty headed girl. The poem utilizes the denotations of “Barbie Doll” to insinuate the twisted value popular society gives to women.
The connotations of Barbie Dolls are generally positive due to the uncountable childhood memories associated with the doll. The poem perceives Barbie as being society’s ideal woman with her “wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy” and her unquestioning sense of her place in society with her “miniature GE stoves and irons” (Piercy 3-4). Barbie changes her appearance and performs certain mundane tasks only because her owner wants her to look and act a certain way just as the girl in the poem dresses and acts a certain way because society wants her to. The “girl child” “born as usual” was “presented” (1-2) with this doll that represented everything society expected of young girls in 1973. The unfair brainwashing of girls to careers as homemakers, without their honest consent, left many girls searching for fulfillment in the perfect role model. They found this “perfect” role model in their “perfect” Barbie dolls and knew they would grow up to be just like their dolls. The old-fashioned image of women as strictly homemakers was not the message that the feminist movement wanted portrayed to young girls. By perverting the happy connotation of Barbie’s many careers into this stereotypical role, the poem tries to depict society’s indoctrination of young girls to this conventional role beginning from childhood.
The most popular controversies surrounding Barbie dolls concern the dolls’ physical appearances. The idolized toy portrays an unrealistic body figure leading to anorexia for some girls trying to emulate Barbie’s “perfect” build. If Barbie was taken out of her one-sixth-scale and made life size, she would stand five feet 9 inches tall, have a 36 inch chest, 18 inch waist, and 33 inch hips. In M.G. Lord’s novel, Forever Barbie, he recalls in 1965 when “Slumber Party Barbie came with a book entitled How to Lose Weight which advised: ‘Don’t eat’” (Lord). This is the image that was sent to women during this time period. Girls were taught their only worth came from beauty, and beauty relied heavily on body shape. In the poem, the “girl child” grew to be “healthy” and “intelligent” with “strong arms and back” (Piercy 7-8), but all everyone saw was “a fat nose on thick legs” (Piercy 11). Society considered the girl ugly because she did not fit the impractical “Barbie” stereotype. Instead of her intelligence and strong features making her a strong independent woman, she was meant to feel as though these traits were a sin. as “she went to and fro apologizing” (10). Threatened by her strong persona, society rebuked the young girl for any independent behavior, forcing her to apologize to everyone for any autonomous thinking action (10). Instead of promoting her intelligence as a valuable resource, she was put down and made to feel worthless by the society surrounding her. The beautiful doll with an empty head and an unhealthy figure was the public’s ideal woman. The poem brings attention to the unrealistic standards for physical beauty traditional women were expected to uphold to be considered attractive in the 1973 society; intelligence and inner beauty were completely dismissed as an alluring quality.
The quiet representation of proper women’s etiquette made slightly vivacious women seem overwhelming. The sexually ambiguous Barbie made vivacious women seem overwhelming. The girl in the poem was shunned for her “abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity” (9). Girls were expected to grow up and be modest of themselves while constantly complimenting their significant others. So instead, the girl was “advised to play coy” and to “exercise, diet, smile, and wheedle” (12-14). Just like Barbie, women needed to stay physically attractive in order to remain sexually appealing for their men. The feminists of the time wanted women to have a fair chance to work outside the home, and the traditional stereotype of pleasing husbands with physical appearances and empty compliments did not fit with the new independent lifestyle. This poem expressed the stress of always trying to please someone else as the young girl’s “good nature wore out/like a fan belt” (15-16). The girl was trained and worked like a machine to appease the impossible societal expectations placed upon her. The poem theatrically shows the unhappiness created when a girl is subjected to unattainable goals and is criticized for her sexual desire.
The most profound irony of this poem resides in the last stanza. After the girl had cut off her ‘deformities’ and had consequently killed herself, the casket was displayed during the funeral. Lying in the casket, the undertaker had put makeup on her and had created a prosthetic nose while she lay in a pink and white nightie. Everyone finally said, “Doesn’t she look pretty?” (Piercy 23). Her entire life she had been criticized for her looks and her sexual vigor, and in death, lying in a nightgown, people finally see beauty in her. Although a shallow beauty, this is the confirmation she had desired her entire life: an acceptance from society. The poem ends with “to every woman a happy ending” (25). The irony is that the girl finally got the approval she sought after, but only after her death, when it was too late for her to accept the shallow compliment. The death of the girl also shows the unrealistic ability for anyone to look like the perfect woman. The only way the girl could give in to societal pressures and be like her Barbie was through an extreme death involving dismemberment. The connotations and denotations of “Barbie Doll” allow the poem’s overall purpose to show the ridiculous stereotypes society expects women to adhere.
Works Cited
Lord, M. G. Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a Real Doll. New York:
Morrow and Co, 1994.
Piercy, Marge. “Barbie Doll.” Perrine’s Literature. Ed. Thomas R Arp and Greg Johnson.
Boston, MA: Thomson Wadsworth, 2006. 761-762.