After World War II the United States’ culture surrounding women abruptly changed. Women were granted the right to vote in 1920, yet their societal positions were still stuck in the past. Women were expected to be the ideal housewife, and look and play a certain part.  The work demand needed to keep America supplied during the war allowed women to fill the men’s jobs while they were protecting the country. This had a lasting impact as, it lead into the 1960s boom of second wave feminism.  During this tumultuous time period organizations were formed that changed the way women viewed themselves and each other not only in appearance  but how they could be challenged in the work force.  The major victories of the Second Wave came in the form of legislation. New laws were enacted that were formulated to give women more equal opportunities with men, which allowed women autonomy over their own bodies. The poem Barbie Doll by Marge Piercy “Barbie Doll reflects the nature of this time period as a nameless “girlchild” whose life, significantly influenced by others’ opinions, comes to an avoidable end.  Piercy wanted to be the voice of women during this time period and her writing reflected the cultural turmoil and change. To demonstrate this, her writing focused on a nameless girl who is ridiculed by her appearance instead of her ability. Her words point out that many women were expected fulfill this ideal image.  Specifically, the tragic ending provides a metaphorical image of the 1960s, and gives the reader insight into the expectations and ideals that were challenged by powerful women, yet still remain in society today. 

Historically this time period saw major legal changes which in turn helped shape a new cultural environment.  JFK Commissioned on the Status of Women, the Equal Pay Act, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Griswold v. Connecticut, Eisenstadt v. Baird, Title IX, the passage of WIC in 1972, Roe v. Wade, the 1974 Equal Credit Opportunity Act.  Women protested and were activist for this change, they were able to accomplish great things in this culturally vibrant period. They also received backlash as many of these women were seen as odd and radically crazy. This reflects the beginning of Piercy’s poem. Stanza one “This girlchild was born as usual,” begins the poem.  This language metaphorically reflected how at first women were seen as unusual for their support of equal rights. As she grows up in the poem  a schoolmate comments negatively on her appearance, noting her “great big nose and fat legs.” This was what many women faced during this period as they were judged based on appearance.  During this movement women’s identity was in their appearance, not only their physical appearance but as well as the way the appeared in society and family life. 

Betty Friedan's challenged the appearance of women in her writing of the Feminine Mystique in 1963. She criticized the idea that women only belonged in the home as mothers and wives that served their family. Her words and influence are both highlighted in Friedan's obituary in the New York Times, as The Feminine Mystique “ignited the contemporary women's movement in 1963 and as a result permanently transformed the social fabric of the United States and countries around the world” (History of Feminism). In the book Friedan ideas are rooted in women feeling like they have to find identity and meaning in their lives through their husbands and children. Leading into the second stanza of Piercy’s poem it is revealed that the “girlchild” is more than her appearance: “She was healthy, tested intelligent/possessed strong arms and back/ She went to and fro apologizing” (Line 7-9, 10). As the reader begins to understand she is capable of great things as she has intelligence and physical talent, but “Everyone” sees her as only “a fat nose on thick legs.” This ideology ultimately leads to the girl’s downfall as she feels she cannot get out of the cycle. This illustrating metaphorically the harsh reality that Betty Friedman harped on. As a result, women were based on their identity and her identity to other people was her appearance. 

Women of this time period were seen as housewives and house wives only. This image was what society wanted. What the girl child’s classmates want is her too look what they deem as pretty. She isn’t important to them much like how women were not important in society. 

In the end society is what kills the now grown up women.  She gives everything of herself and yet it wasn’t good enough, that was the nature of this time period. The women made so many historic gains and yet today some of the same problems still exist in society.  Gender inequality and the wage gap still exist and are very prevent in the work environment.  Today women still face these issues. When examining the cover of Rolling Stones, a study was done in order to see if men and women were evenly objectified, and if both were sexualized equally. The poem reveals that the women was capable of great things but her peers and society could only react to her appearance: “She was advised to play coy/ exhorted to come on hearty/ exercise, diet, smile and wheedle/ Her good nature wore out” (line 11-15). Society ultimately pushed her to the breaking point. To empathize this, the magazine study exhibits a world in which women are pushed to look like and act in a certain way. They examined 1,046 covers to conclude their results, they developed a 23-point scale for determining if images were slightly sexualized, clearly sexualized and hyper sexualized. In the 1960s 44% of women were sexualized on the covers compared to 11% of men.  In the early 2000s 17% of men were sexualized compared to 83% of women sexualized this a 53% increase.  The difference between the intensity of a sexual presence is even greater, women’s images were hypersexualized, non-sexualized versions of women have become less and less.  This leading to an increase in objectification of women.  The fight is still present for women, the second wave of feminism saw great improvement in laws being enacted, but culturally society still was stuck in old ways. The end of the poem highlights this, as her life ends in a sacrificial way. She was tired of all the comments, objectification and ridicule she received. In response to this she took her own life. The final stanza writes, “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” (Line 19-22) The end they only talk about her appearance for the first time in a positive tone. The poem later reads, “Doesn't she look pretty? / everyone said/ Consummation at last/ To every woman a happy ending (Line 22-25). Her appearance was all that mattered and in the end it was too much. Significantly this poem was an example of what women were fighting against in the 1960s. This period was crucial to the development of American culture, as well as the development of women. 

Second Wave feminism catapulted the nation into a time of development for women. It allowed them to be seen and heard and many laws were passed so equality could be accomplished. For the most part, powerful women helped greatly decrease the gap between to sexes although some gender inequalities still remain today. On the positive side the United Sates and the world was forever changed by people like Betty Freidman and Marge Piercy as they became great examples of extremely power and influential women.
