Marge Piercy's poem Barbie Doll

Despite being "healthy," "intelligent," " square" and normal of sex drive she feels the need to be excusatory for her physical shortcomings. In reality, she feels horrible because she is not perceived by others to have the idealized physical perfection of a "Barbie Doll," consequently the title of the rime. She also feels horrible because she was raised with values that make her feel that being attractive was the only way she could be considered desir suitable or acceptable. As she tells us, "She went to and fro apologizing. / Everyone saw a go cuddle on thick legs," (Piercy, 1973, 1).

The female speaker of the poem then informs us that she was given only manner of advice at how to be attractive to others. She should " encounter coy," she should "come on hearty," and she should "exercise, diet, grinning and wheedle," (Piercy, 1973, 1). In other words, to be desirable in a male dominated society, a woman must play a game that resembles anything other than her real self-expression. The girl last succumbs to essay to become the image of what others think she should be, in fact, all they think that she can be. As we are told, "Her good personality wore out / like a fan belt," (Piercy, 1973, 1). The girl cannot be herself in a society that judges others based on idealized images of self and come alongance.

The girl eventually decides that the only response she can offer to become attractive and acceptable to others is t

o cut off her wrap and her legs. She is willing to cut off pieces of her self rather than present the horror of being rejected by others. We are told that in the casket she is made up with a "turned-up putty nose," convey that dryally in death she acquired the nose she always want (Piercy, 1973, 1). In actuality, she only wanted such a nose because she was raised with the values of others that allowed her no self-expression or individualism.

Ironically, without being able to see her legs and with her artificial nose, the girl is finally able to appear as others always seemed to want her to appear: "Doesn't she look slightly? everyone said" (Piercy, 1973, 1).

We can readily see that Piercy is being ironic in this poem, sending a harsh message to American women that trying to live up to patriarchal attitudes and values for women is a fatal game. Piercy (1973) ends her poem by saying, "To every woman a happy ending" (1). Once more she is being sarcastic, maintaining that the "girlchild's" deed is happy but her life had to end because it was a accomplishment achieved artificially. This not only resulted in her death because the values she try to live up to were not ones that represented or effectuate her but it was also because she swallowed her socialization without question, making her feel that she had no appeal on her own merits if she did not resemble a "Barbie Doll" to others. Thus, Piercy is trying to arouse and awaken women to the fact that trying to live up to mal
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