When Betty Friedan released her book The Feminine Mystique in 1962, it caught the eyes of thousands of women across the United States of America who felt they were trapped and did not play an important role in society. As one women stated in Friedan’s book, “I’m desperate. I begin to feel I have no personality. I’m a server of food and a putter-on of pants and a bed maker, somebody who can be called on when you want something. But who am I?” (“The 1960s-1970s” 2). The idea of feminism arose in the 1920’s, however, women mainly pushed for the right to vote to be legally equal with men, and they were successful with the passing of the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution.  This new revelation in the 1960’s would soon be known as “second wave” feminism (“The 1960s-1970s” 2). During this era, women would push for personal, household, and workplace equality. Among these women was author Marge Piercy, born on March 31, 1936, in Detroit, Michigan (Deutsch 2). Piercy was an avid feminist and published many works on the subject (Shuman 4). In order to better understand her poem “Barbie Doll”, published in 1973, it is necessary to understand the movement of second wave feminism and expectations of women at the time.

The idea of a perfect women has been around for thousands of years. However, during World War II women were a large percentage of the work force because many men were fighting overseas. Women soon began to feel a sense of pride in their work and felt the feeling of success. Women also were more educated during the post-World War II than any other period in United States history even in areas of study considered to be for men. Unfortunately, when the war ended men began to replace the women in the workplace (Holt 2). Men expected women to follow a certain path once again as stated on in “The 1960s-70s American Feminist Movement: Breaking Down Barriers for Women” which was “to marry in her early 20’s, start a family quickly, and devote her life to homemaking” (1). It was estimated that women spent an average of fifty-five hours a week on household duties. Only thirty-eight percent of women worked during this period, however, they were strictly limited to being teachers, nurses, and secretaries. Also, women were paid lower salaries than men (“The 1960s-70s” 1,2). Although women were successful during the war, they still felt an obligation to follow the household idea of a woman when many men returned (Holt, 2). 

Many advertisements, magazines, and movies were created in an effort to maintain this “traditional” role for a woman after the war. Magazines played the biggest role, however, in making sure this idea was constantly instilled in women because of the amount of readers. According to Jennifer Holt in “The Ideal Woman,” “by the end of the 1950s, the ‘Seven Sisters’ alone (Better Homes and Gardens, Family Circle, Good Housekeeping, Ladies’ Home Journal, McCall’s Redbook, and Woman’s Day) reached over 34 million consumers” (2). It was estimated that ninety percent of the pictures and advertisements in these magazines depicted women performing traditional, household tasks. Women were also more likely to buy cleaning supplies, food, and clothing than men were. They were expected to take care of the home and be a good mother. Advertisements even had lines such as “a good wife and mother would buy this” and “a good wife would want to protect her family” (Holt 3). 

Lastly, women were not trusted to make big decisions, were viewed as “dependent” on men, and had to be visually appealing. Women were not trusted to make big decisions as shown in the General Motor’s advertisement on Holt’s essay which depicts a woman folding laundry with the caption “Can a Woman buy the Family Car…Wisely?” (4). They were viewed as dependent on men because most women did not receive an income. Therefore, most women did not have a means of putting food on the table or providing a home for herself. Most importantly, a woman needed to appeal to a man’s eye which is the main theme of “Barbie Doll.” If a woman was not attractive enough, she would worry about being left. Mass purchasing of make-up and beauty products occurred during this time to get rid of any blemishes to ensure a “perfect” women (Holt 4). 

“Barbie Doll” was shaped with an underlying theme of second wave feminism of the 1960’s. If one understands the expectations and gender roles of society for a woman at that time, it helps to better understand the poem. Also, the concept of a Barbie Doll is important to understand. A Barbie Doll is a small doll commonly played with by young girls that is considered to have admirable physical characteristics by society. Since the idea of this perfect woman is instilled in so many young girls because of the popularity of the doll, many girls aspire to have similar physical traits. If a girl does not feel physically accepted, it can lead to depression and a low self-esteem. 

The poem’s first stanza begins with “This girlchild was born as usual and presented dolls that did pee-pee and miniature GE stoves and irons and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy” (Piercy 348). Basically, the girl was born just the same as all the other girls of the time. She also received the “appropriate” gifts for a young girl at the time to make sure she kept her feminine identity (Deutsch 2). She received a stove to instill the traditional role of the female cooking, and dolls and lipstick to show her the “correct” way a woman should look. The stanza closes with a statement from a classmate: “You have a great big nose and fat legs” (Piercy 348). Although the girl is experiencing puberty where every teenager looks weird, she feels fear for her future. If she has “a great big nose and fat legs” then how is she supposed to be attractive for a man? Without a man, how is she supposed to fulfill her household duties as the ideal woman? Even though the second stanza tells us “she was healthy, tested intelligent, possessed strong arms and back” (Piercy 348) she still believes everyone sees her for having a fat nose and thick legs. She is a perfectly, healthy girl, however, one comment from a peer devastates her to believe that she is not living up to everyone’s expectations of a woman. 

In stanza three, “she was advised to play coy, exhorted to come on hearty, exercise, diet, smile and wheedle” (Piercy 349). The growing girl receives tips and advice on how to become more perfect or accepted in her time. She was told to be flirty and wholesome, and of course she needed to exercise, diet, and smile because she is taught beauty is key (Deutsch 4). Eventually, the woman could not live any longer because she truly did not know who she was as a person (Deutsch 4). The poem states “so she cut off her nose and her legs and offered them up” (Piercy 349) which is the way the author states the woman commits suicide. She finally gets rid of her imperfections (Deutsch 4). With these imperfections now gone, she “lay with the undertaker’s cosmetics painted on” (Piercy 349) and everyone agrees how pretty she is. The gatherers are finally happy with the way she looks, but the woman will never know (Deutsch 4). Finally, the last line “to every woman a happy ending” (Piercy 349) states every woman’s goal is to satisfy others, and after death everyone is finally satisfied with her.  

The 1960’s was a period of great liberation and change for women. Although many women were being discriminated against by society, their voices were being heard around the world and changes were being made. As proven during World War II, women are capable of attaining the same education and level of performance in professions as men are. The end of the era came in the 1970’s, but many important services were founded during it for women by women. These include services such as rape crisis centers, health clinics, and woman’s shelters. Today, the results of this movement are shown by a growing number of women in the workplace, especially politics, and the amount of educated women (“1960s-1970s” 6). Marge Piercy’s “Barbie Doll” is a great piece describing the expectations and hardships of the time for many women and can still be applied to today’s society.

 