The Barbie Doll represents a societal pressure put on women to confirm to this ideal image which is in the end self-destructive for some women. In the 1970s there was another wave of the feminism movement within the America’s and with that it makes sense as to the time this poem was written in. By looking at the poem we can better understand the larger cultural and historical contexts by analyzing the imposed values that females in the 70s were supposed to possess. The poem by Piercy uses voice, irony, and symbolism to show the reverse fairytale ending and the patriarchal model of femininity.

The title is introduced to represent the toy Barbie Doll that is given to many young girls and is somewhat an idealization of the “perfect female” set by society. There has been much debate “whether Barbie represents a feminine ideal that is healthy or harmful for girls.” The poem began with a fairy-tale type feeling with the girl-child being presented the dolls, stove, iron, and lipstick which are traditional toys for young American girls. They also show the image presented to women by setting in stone their femininity and things they should get used to for their social roles. The doll itself is basically a patriarchal idealization of the body, and the stove and iron represent a house wife skill set imposed upon many women of the period. Lipstick was a way to push a physical appearance on a young girl so she will prepare to be valued based on image. 

The “magic of puberty” then progresses the theme of the poem by causing the girls body to change rapidly. Piercy uses this phrase ironically as it is also a reference to the agony that arises with puberty as well. During puberty teenagers notice physical attributes more so than before as people begin to change and differ. Through these changes you can again reference her difference to Barbie and the doll’s “personification of changing feminine ideals.” The girl was told she had “a great big nose and fat legs,” and despite her intelligence, strength, and health the former is what people see. So, despite her attributes which may be positive for a male they are not for a female, and thus she is looked and spoken down upon for having her “abundant sexual drive.” In later years in society “developments as the invention of the birth control pill offered women greater control over their own sexuality” but especially in the given period it would be looked down upon. This trait on a female can be seen as slutty or whorish where on a young boy they could have been seen as manly or just being a boy by becoming sexual. 

She was basically made feel at fault for the changes she was going through, and for being intelligent and able but not necessarily slim or “beautiful”. She “went to and fro apologizing” to everyone for not being who they wanted her to be, but all they could see was “a fat nose on thick legs.” Despite her kindness and intelligence, she was still treated poorly because she did not match the patriarchal beauty image imposed on the society. They tried to encourage her to be more like how they idealized women and suggested ways she could compensate for her lack of ideal femininity. Many young girls are socialized through families, cultures, and education from the day they are born in societies such as our own. Piercy is symbolically analyzing the procedure in which children inhabit their gendered identities and the devastating consequences of those processes for women.

Many commodities wear out from overuse such as the “fan belt”, and as Piercy suggested the Barbie Doll itself and even women are no exception. This simile is used to convey that all things can run out eventually such as the girl’s good nature, and this drove her to “cut off her nose and her legs” basically ending her own life. Her good nature was the part of her that tried so hard to conform to the societal image imposed upon her, but she had been so abused that she got to a point where she could no longer continue. She “offers up” those body parts as a action of offering the parts of her body which has caused her so much oppression, but to whom we are unaware so I can only assume to the patriarchal society itself. 

These next lines are intertwined heavily with irony. The individual that the girlchild could never become is the person “appearing” in her casket, and only after she had “the undertaker’s cosmetics painted on.” She with given a “turned-up putty nose” and “a pink and white nightie” which is a feature of the Barbie-Doll like image of beauty and femininity the patriarchal society deems beautiful. A very ironic thing to note is that all the people who could not value her as she was are now the people that are admiring the person she was made into after death, they are admiring the Barbie-Doll like fake girl that was made by a person who holds the image society deems beautiful. It is stated in the end “consummation at last,” and then ironically throws in “To every woman a happy ending.”  Consummation was thrown in to represent fulfillment or satisfaction given by the achievement of the unreal image imposed upon her. The last line reinstates the happy ending of a fairy tale, but Piercy is basically saying that because of women’s patriarchal position in society the happiest of endings can be achieved in death. In actuality it is very difficult for a woman in that society to achieve that happy ending.

Despite strength and intelligence women were encouraged to be tiny beautiful delicate objects. They were encouraged to be stay at home wives who cared for children and they were given toys that instilled the values of their patriarchal roles at child hood. They were told they needed to be beautiful and kind and that being strong was useless so that they would fit their patriarchal mold. With that for what reason should a women really have to conform to any standard? Why should a woman not be equal to her male counterpart. There is no reason, but many girls are still driven to death to achieve this image.  
