Girls and boys are raised in completely different ways, and these ways are imposed on them by this idea of social construction. As children, we are given toys to play with based on our gender, and do not really have a say on what it is that we want. Girls are usually given dolls while boys are usually given things such as racecars or G.I Joes. The social constructions that are imposed on children stick with them throughout their adulthood. By relating the poem "Barbie Doll" by Marge Piercy with the article, "Barbie Doll and G.I Joe: Exploring Issues of Gender" by Robert Perrin, I noticed that this analysis of gender became more evident because the poem could have easily been titled G.I Joe. It would be interesting to see how the poem would explain the social, personal, and psychological implications that boys face as they grow up. By looking through this article it is clearly understood that society raises boys and girls in different ways based on their gender. This behavior of dividing women and men continues to cycle through future generations because there is still a boundary on what men and woman can and cannot do. For example, women are expected to stay in the house. Although, times have changed and there are more women in the work force, there is still a greater ratio of men working then women. Girls grow up thinking they have to act and be a certain way, while boys grow up thinking they have to be someone completely different. You are either feminine or masculine, there is no in between. This is a bad thing in today's society, because it limits women from becoming who they want to be. They are raised into thinking they can only be a certain way, and cannot live out their true potential in life. By looking at the mocking word choice and the sarcastic tone in the poem "Barbie Girl" compared with the analysis in "Barbie Doll and G.I Joe: Exploring Issues of Gender" it is evident that girls have a different experience growing up then boys do. 

Young girls are taught to be polite, easy going, and to maintain a thin figure. The beginning of the poem "Barbie Doll" describes a young girl presented with dolls, GE stoves, irons, and lipsticks. The way these toys are described shows the childhood nature in the girl. Her doll that is given to her does "pee-pee", the GE stove that she receives is "miniature", and the lipsticks she gets are "wee" and of the color "cherry red". The speaker is dehumanizing the young girl by making it seem as if she is just like every other girl receiving gifts that only females can acquire. In contrast to this young girl, it is interesting to think into the idea of the toys young boys receive. For example, some things they usually receive are G.I Joes, racecars, or legos. As children, young boys and girls do not have an understanding of what it is that they want to be playing with, because girls are automatically handed Barbie dolls instead of things such as action figures. But what if your daughter asked you to play with an action figure, parents tend to shut that idea down right from the beginning, making it difficult for children to have a say in what is they want. They are just given things based on the social constructions that this world has made for them. Parents end up handing their children items that they once played with when they were young. It is a cycle that keeps occurring because gender stereotypes are hard to break. Robert Perrin explains how one rarely ever sees a young boy playing with Barbie dolls, or a young girl playing with small army men imitating a battle scene. These are things that people do not see, because the world has come up with the ideal situation that girls must do this and boys must do that.  
Puberty is always a difficult time and is usually harder for girls then for boys since young girls have a hard time accepting their bodies and being comfortable with the type of person they are becoming. The next couple lines of the poem shifts gears in taking a deeper look into this young girls life as she blossoms into a woman. Her physical features are changing, which is a natural part of life, and she is picked on in school when classmates say, "You have a great big nose and fat legs" (Piercy, 334). However, she is noted for being "healthy, tested intelligent, possessed strong arms and back, abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity" (Piercy, 334). The only things people noticed were her big nose and fat legs. The change in tone also illuminates the difficulties of puberty when the speaker states "the magic of puberty". This sarcastic tone plays into the struggle that the young girl has. According to Robert Perrin, this illustrates how the world only cares about a woman's appearance rather than her values of being intelligent and strong. To compare this situation for a young boy, they are applauded for being intelligent, strong, and healthy. It is rarely seen that young boys are picked on for their physical appearance. Girls hit puberty earlier then boys do, and they tend to be very sensitive. Girls have this sense of mind that they need to fit in so everyone will like them. For example, in the poem the young girl "went to and fro apologizing" meanwhile the people picking on her should be the ones apologizing. Boys on the other hand are overwhelmed when hitting puberty but do not experience it the same way girls do. They are excited to grow and want to be taller. They are into the idea of growing facial hair and gaining muscles. Puberty tends to make boys feel more confident about themselves, while girls tend to dread it.  Looking back at the poem, throughout the girl's life: "She was advised to play coy, exhorted to come on hearty, exercise, diet, smile and wheedle" (Piercy, 335). All these things are stereotypical for the ways girl are supposed to act. This young girl is being told who she should be rather than embracing her talents and becoming the woman that she wants to be on her own. 

After being told how to act and how you are supposed to be, it really takes you into a different perspective and it is easy for girls to get stuck in this myopic mindset. Girls today are putting themselves down because they feel like they do not fit in or are not good enough. They form eating disorders, and start to fantasize about this ideal version of themselves that they wish they could become, instead of embracing themselves to begin with. Towards the end of this poem, the young girl eventually begins to wear down: "So she cut off her nose and her legs and offered them up" (Piercy, 335) because she is so tired of being critiqued for her appearance. Society is pressuring girls to be a specific way and it is making them want to destroy themselves not only mentally but also physically. This girl, along with many other girls today, feel that if they cannot be accepted for who they are then they should not exist at all. Depression is a big factor in teenage girls. Society and social constructions push girls to inflict harm on themselves. While boys also have a tendency to become depressed, it is not for the same reasons girls do. It is not likely that a boy would be walking around school getting called out for having a big nose or thick legs. A boy would also not go around apologizing to these cruel people, because they do not care about what other people think of them as much as girls do. 

The description of the way the young girl is portrayed in her casket is also very disturbing. " In the casket displayed on satin she lay with the undertaker's cosmetics painted on, a turned   up putty nose, dressed in a pink and white nightie" (Piercy, 335). She is not even treated as a real person but more of an object that can be shown to people to make them feel more comfortable. This imagery is supposed to show her ideal ending of her finally being accepted and looking pretty. However, Robert Perrin explains that her entire appearance is just a way of mocking woman. The fact that she is dressed in this bizarre nightie, and has all these cosmetics applied to her face, dehumanizes the girl. The fact that people are going around commenting on her appearance by asking, "Doesn't she look pretty?" also highlights how all society cares about is physical characteristics. This child was feeling depressed and wanted to end her own life because of the way she was treated growing up. The social constructions and the world around her made her feel like something less than she was, and even in the end these people only cared about the way she looked. The last line of the poem, "to every woman a happy ending", is more of a sarcastic undertone from the speaker making it seem like every woman is the same and should be treated so. It is mocking the so-called happy ending for the girl because she was finally recognized as being pretty, as if that is all women care about. 

This poem highlights the way society needs to change. Raising young girls to be domesticated and only care about pleasing others and looking pretty is destroying their humanity. Girls need to grow up knowing that they have the opportunity to become whoever they want. They should not have to listen to what others tell them to do, or act the way others tell them to be. Young girls need to learn this before they get stuck in the mindset that they are not good enough, because once they fall into that hole it is hard for them to get out of it. 

