In a society that places such great emphasis on how women should look and act, it is often difficult for females to embrace their individuality and display self- confidence. In the poem “Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy, Piercy explores the idea of feminism in the 1970s by presenting the image of an intelligent, young girl that essentially deems herself worthless as a result of the pressures of society. Just as the character in the poem goes to great lengths in order to compete with the expectations of society, women everywhere are forced to do the same. In her piece, Piercy uses repetition, irony, comparison, and places emphasis on important words in order to communicate the importance of the reoccurring idea of feminism and how it affects women in society. 

In the very first line of the poem, Marge Piercy places substantial emphasis on the idea of female sexuality by using the term “girlchild”. She could have easily just used the word “child”, but instead decided to focus on the fact that the character is a girl. This is so crucial mainly because it sets the tone for the rest of the poem by capturing the reader’s attention so soon in the text. Piercy goes on to give the reader an idea of what life is essentially like for a little girl before puberty. By using repetitive terms such as “pee-pee”, “miniature”, and “wee”, the author creates a sense of youth and naivety where it seems as though nothing in life can possibly be harmful. It’s almost as if the “girlchild” is in her own little world and has no idea what lies ahead. 

 It is evident, however, that the tone of the poem completely changes once the character hits puberty. Piercy writes, “Then in the magic of puberty, a classmate said: You have a great big nose and fat legs.” (Pg.348). All of a sudden, the girl isn’t in her own world anymore and she experiences criticism for flaws she never even knew she had. The tactlessness of the words that the author uses really gets the point across of how harsh it can be growing up as a girl. No one tells you what to expect and when name- calling and criticism does happen, it is always easiest to just blame yourself, which is exactly what the girl in the poem does. In the second stanza the author notes, “She was healthy, tested intelligent, possessed strong arms and back, abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity. She went to and fro apologizing.” (Pg. 348) The most appalling thing about this quote is that the character apologies for merely being herself, which goes back to the idea of putting the blame on yourself. When someone apologizes for something it implies that they have done something wrong. Yet, it is obvious from the quote that the girl in Piercy’s poem is smart, strong, skillful, and for those reasons, has absolutely nothing to apologize for. 

As if constant criticism on looks isn’t bad enough, it is not uncommon for society to tell you how to act on top of that. Towards the end of the poem, Piercy writes, “She was advised to play coy, exhorted to come on hearty, exercise, diet, smile and wheedle.” (Pg. 349)  Although being “coy” isn’t exactly the opposite of being “hearty”, the two words have two very different meanings and it can be frustrating when people urge you to act differently than who you really are. Ultimately, society wanted to create the “perfect” woman out of this girl, which is simply impossible and extremely unfair. In the next line, the author compares the girl to a “fan belt”. (Pg. 349) This comparison creates a clear picture of how worn out she became as a result of the constant nit picking of her peers. At this point in the poem, the girl no longer wants to deal with the pressures and expectations of society, “So she cut off her nose and her legs and offered them up,” writes Piercy. Whether the author means this literally or figuratively, there is no doubt that the girl completely lost hope in everyone, including herself, and finally surrendered to the stress of what her life became. 

When analyzing the last stanza of the poem, it is evident that Piercy uses irony in order to get her last point across: “…with the undertaker’s cosmetics painted on, a turned-up putty nose, dressed in a pink and white nightie. Doesn’t she look pretty? Everyone said. Consummation at last. To every woman a happy ending.” (Pg. 349) This quote shows that at the end of the day, society always wins. Even when the girl in the poem passes away, all anyone cares about is her looks – not her intelligence, skill, or strength, which are the kind of things that should be valued for women in society. The very last line is the most ironic because in reality, women rarely have a happy ending. Not to say that they never do, but when a woman does receive recognition for something other than her looks, she almost always has to work twice as hard to get there. 

In literature and in life, women are constantly picked apart for every little thing possible and are expected to deal with it by conforming to society’s unrealistic expectations. Additionally, there currently is and has always been this preconceived notion of what a “perfect woman” is supposed to be. However, she does not exist. This notion causes women everywhere to feel as though they are never good enough and can never measure up to the standards of society, which can be seen clearly in “Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy. The female character in this poem goes from being a naïve young girl to a woman who can’t live with the pressure bestowed upon her by society. However, it should always be clear that no one should be made to feel like they aren’t worthy of living, which is why pieces of literature like “Barbie Doll” are so important in today’s society.
