
I compared the poem, “Barbie Doll,” by Marge Piercy to the Feminist Movement that took place during the 1960s-1970s. The Feminist Movement was a movement created by women for fair treatment. The main purpose of the movement was for women to gain equal treatment in the workplace. The objectives of the movement were to obtain better jobs and salaries. After reading, “Barbie Doll,” I understand the Feminist Movement and why women fought for equality. I also compared the poem to how girls obtain a poor self-esteem.

I better understand the Feminist Movement more than before after reading the poem, “Barbie Doll.” Women felt the need to be happy. They wanted to end the expectations that society held for women. Women wanted good jobs and a better salary. They wanted to have equality in the workplace and gender equality in general. They wanted to prove to society that they did not have to have a perfect body like Barbie and a husband to be seen as a woman. 

Women were limited in almost every respect. They were limited in family life and in the workplace. Women were expected to follow one path. They were expected to get married in their early 20s, quickly start a family, and devote her life to being a housewife. Women were not expected to have their own lives but to be someone’s keeper – their husband’s keeper or their children’s keeper. This took a toll on their lives because women had so much more to offer the world besides housekeeping and children care. Women also had no legal rights to their husband’s money or property. Women had to fight for what was right. 

Women fought for their freedom. They did not want to be known only as housewives and mothers. They wanted more. They wanted equality. “Equality is a rich, difficult, contested political concept, and the choice among apparently reasonable meanings has implications for the kind of social policies one urges” (Elshtain, 452). Equality is one of the most nettlesome concepts in a political life (Elshain, 452). The Feminists theoreticians made their goal of the feminist movement to obtain nothing less than equality between the sexes (Elshain, 452). The women whom participated in the movement explored the feminists’ goals – in their radical, liberal, and socialist versions by understanding the implications of equality (Elshain, 452). 

Various Feminists had four versions of equality in their mind during the movement (Elshain, 454). The first version was equality as a statement of fact or description of a person’s certain characteristics; the second version was equality of rights or equality under the law; the third version was equality of opportunity; and the fourth version was equality of treatment and respect (Elshain, 454-455). 

Equality is first understood as having to do with characteristics and qualities of a person (Elshain, 455). The claim of equality can be perceived in two ways – one way serves the inequality in social arrangements; the other way serves to press for more egalitarian arrangements (Elshain,455). It was formerly understood that to be “equal” to someone you had to be the “same as” or “identical to” that person (Elshain, 455). The belief of natural inequality affect people of certain classes or races (Elshain, 455). For the most part those to whom do not distinguish between sameness assumes that differences such as sex, race, and levels of intelligence do not make them equal (Elshain, 455).

The poem, “Barbie Doll,” portrays summary of life from birth to death. The main character in the poem never had a chance to live her life to the fullest because she was always trying to please society. She was always trying to be accepted. She never got the chance to be herself which led to a life filled with unhappiness. The first stanza of the poem says, “This girlchild was born as usual and presented dolls that did pee-pee and miniature GE stoves and irons...” (Piercy, 348).  The first line indicates that the girl was born perfect. She had nothing wrong with her. The first stanza also describes toys that girls often play with. This represents the kind of work woman are expected to do. It shows that woman is supposed to learn to cook, iron, and take care of children to be a proper woman. 

Barbie dolls carry a lot of meaning in society. Barbie dolls exemplify a woman with a perfect body showing beauty. Barbie dolls are made to look like what a woman is supposed to look like. Woman are supposed to have a perfect body to be accepted.  Society favors beauty in girls over intelligence (Collins). In 2010, a study found that 84 percent of girls think they must be skinny in order to be popular (Collins). This is an increase from 75 percent in the same study done in 2000 (Collins). Researchers find that are serious psychological and physical health risks associated with girls’ negative body images (Collins). Girls are more vulnerable than boys to developing and investing in a negative body image (Collins). Negative body images are usually associated with depression, eating disorders, and poor self-esteem (Collins). 

Girls in America today are being subjected to powerful forces that are affecting their identity development (Collins). Girls try to make their body shape, clothes, and hair into their central self-definition instead of their personality (Collins). They do this in order to please society and not feel left out. Many girls believe that the perfect girl looks like a Barbie (Collins). Girls have this idea of perfect from a young age after playing with Barbies. These ideas of the “perfect girl” can lead to girls developing depression and eating disorders (Collins).

In the poem, “Barbie Doll,” the young girl has a poor self-esteem. She has a poor self-esteem because the other kids tell her, “You have a great big nose and fat legs” (Piercy, 349). She would never be the same after those words. In the poem, she tried to diet and exercise but she was never good enough for society. She was told to lose weight and smile even though she was not happy. She lived an unhealthy and unhappy life because she was always trying to please society. At the end of the poem, the young girl cut of her nose and legs to finally please society (Piercy, 349). “In the casket displayed on satin” indicates the young girl’s death and symbolizes a big Barbie box (Piercy, 349). Everyone said, “Doesn’t she look pretty?” (Piercy, 349). This was a sarcastic and ironic showing of how society accepted the girl for someone she was not but for someone they wanted her to be. 

The poem, “Barbie Doll,” signifies what happens to women and anyone, of different races or color, who are oppressed and have pressure exerted on them from society. The Feminist Movement worked towards equality and fair treatment. The Feminist Movement also worked towards woman performing acts out of social norms. The poem is an example that society wants women to be a “Barbie” and shames women who do not look like a “Barbie.” This includes women of different shapes, sizes, and races. The poem shows women that if they always try to please society they will never truly be happy. Women will only have a good self-esteem if they be themselves. 
