In Marge Piercy's Barbie Doll, she addresses the issues brought caused by the image portrayed by Mattel's famous Barbie and other toys presented to young girls. She begins by introducing a young girl with typical young girl toys, such as dolls, small stoves, and lipstick. However, as the girl begins to grow up she is made fun of for the size her nose and legs. In the end of the poem the girl cuts off her nose and legs. At her funeral she is put on display with a fake nose and her legs not being able to be seen. From the beginning of our lives we are taught several gender norms. Girls wear dresses, have long hair, and play with dolls. Boys wear pants, have short hair, and play outside. Even further into those few regulations is that men are in charge of the household, while the women are responsible for the cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the children. Most of these norms can be traced back to biblical times and have created variations as sin has begun to rule the world. At the time that this poem was written, so began the second wave of feminism.

According to Michael A. Messner's Barbie Girls versus Sea Monsters: Children Constructing Gender, he talks about the gender roles pressed on to young children by forcing them to play with either this or that toy. Girls play with their dolls, while boys have action figures. He focuses on the barbie and how she is contributor to the gender roles of today. He says, "Barbie is likely one of the most immediately identifiable symbols of femininity in the world" (775).  He believes that Barbie has a negative impact rather. Barbie gives the influence that beauty is all that matters in a woman's life. Messner says, "To many second wave feminists, Barbie seemed to symbolize all that was oppressive about this femininity- the bodily self-surveillance, accompanying eating disorders, slaver to the dictates of the fashion industry and compulsory heterosexuality" (776). He gets the point of view from parents and what they think of the influence of the Barbie, "Feminist parents, on the other hand, have often expressed open contempt- or at least uncomfortable ambivalence toward Barbie. This is because both  conservative and feminist parents see dominant cultural meaning of emphasized femininity as condensed in Barbie and assume that these meanings will be imitated by their daughters" (775). Those that enforce the gender norms understand the difference also. They believe in the strict teaching that girls should act one way and boys another. They avoid crossing the norms to avoid anything messing up in their children's minds and personalities. It would be such a detriment if their children ended up being gay because they played with the wrong toys. They emphasize that dresses are for girls and only girls. If a boy wears a dress as a young child then they get it in their head that it is acceptable. 

Gender roles are being pushed away more today, as they should be, however, there is an equal pushing to enforce these roles. Often backing up these two differents sides is religion, or lack thereof. For those who support in completely separating boys and girls, they most likely use the bible as their guide. Here is the suggestion that women are supposed to stay covered, including clothes and hair, and are not to interfere with their husband as he is in charge. On the other side of the spectrum are the less conservative, feminist parents who are all for equality. The thoughts that women are just as good as men. They believe that clothing and hairstyles, interests and jobs, and the toys they play with as a child should not be limited to one specific gender.

Robert Perrin's "Barbie Doll" and "G. I. Joe": Exploring Issues of Gender, he specifically addresses Marge Piercy's poem. He has his classes read and analyze the poem and the result is always the same. They bring the same topics that stand out to each and every class. He has his class study the language of the poem. By the end of the analysis he says, "by examining the language throughout the poem, students may discover the intensity- and ultimate cruelty- of a society that encourages patterned behaviors, that fails to recognize the innate values people possess, that creates artificial demands, and that perpetuates unhealthy expectations" (83). They take out specific words in the poem that stick out them as undermining to women. Words such as "wheedle," "coy," and "hearty" (84).  They display how a woman is meant to behave. They are to be reserved and let their husband or whatever man is in their life take care of the talking while she stands there and looks pretty, hopefully. He later asks his class how the poem would be and how it would reflect today's society if it had been titled G. I. Joe. This brings up the discussion of the different norms for boys such as, "What kind of comment from a classmate can undermine a boy's self-concept? What adolescent qualities that seem positive in a neutral context are the bane of a young boy's existence? What would he feel obliged to apologize for or dismiss? What implicit advice does "everyone" give young men? What behaviors are they encouraged to engage in?" (84). This is really challenging everything kids are taught. He wants them to think from the completely opposite view point. To understand how there is more pressure put on girls and women and if it were the opposite, then would there really be such a problem. Are boys faced with similar expectations or do they have it easy? 

The biggest problem with Barbie is the representation of the "perfect girl" that she demonstrates, such as the unproportional skinny waist, pointed feet that a made for seemingly only heels, blonde hair, blue eyes, tall, and petite features. In reality no person fits all of those attributes. When girls are faced with such a figure they strive to achieve that look. They began starving themselves and develop eating disorders that could end up being fatal. They dye their hair to fit the stereotype of beautiful blondes, because "blondes have more fun." Make-up almost becomes a part of their face because Barbie has the perfect smokey eye all of the time. Girls, once the appropriate age, get plastic surgery for a slimmer face and waist and a larger bosom region. There is nothing realistic about the way Barbie looks and is essentially influencing young girls to destroy their bodies, just like in the poem. The girl eventually gets so fed up with not adhering to the norms that she cut off her nose and legs, because they were keeping her from that perfect beauty standard.

In the fourth stanza, while the girl lay in her casket, with her new made nose the author makes a point to include everyone's impression of the girl, "doesn't she look pretty? everyone said" (335). Even after she is dead, she is made up to look perfect, not for herself, but for everyone else. Finally she is accepted as beautiful. She has to be presentable. No one questions the fact that she has an entirely new nose. She has achieved what every woman strives for, total perfection. At least that is what society thinks that women strive for. The truth is that looks aren't everything and women care about intelligence and they have hobbies just like everyone else. 

It is obvious that there is a difference between the norms that are forced upon girls and boys. Nonetheless they both can cause problems. Barbie Doll focuses on the norms of beauty pushed on young girls. Their size and weight being the main issue. When they do not quite live up to those standards they are belittled because they do not conform, so they are not normal. This is one of the main topics for feminist since the beginning and continues to be an issue today. Essentially there is really no such thing as equality, for anyone. Someone is always going to think they are better than everyone else. Until the day comes where there is world peace, there will be no equality.

