Marge Piercy, Michigan native born in 1936, is a feminist writer, with most of her work pertaining to second and third wave feminism. In her poem, Barbie Doll, Piercy focuses on the expectations set by society for women, particularly those about appearance and how to act in social encounters. The poem follows a young girl throughout her life featuring the critiques she receives from society and the social norms pressed on her from birth. Piercy was exposed to feminist movements, including ones close to home at University of Michigan. Around the time that Piercy wrote Barbie Doll, there was a movement at the university to create equal opportunities and the inclusion of women at the school in general. Protestors at the university concentrated on the social roles of women, similar to the poem written by Piercy. Feminist movements and arguments help to the shape the poem Barbie Doll and the idea that women are conformed and criticized by society.

Women in the United States of America have taken a stand against discrimination throughout history. While feminism has wavered in its popularity during certain eras, the common goal has been to eliminate discrimination against women in social and professional environments. More recently, feminism has moved towards providing equality for all, regardless of race, sex, and gender. 

In Barbie Doll, Piercy begins by introducing a young girl who has been born into the world. The first stanza shows the idea that she is already being conformed by society into the ideal woman. The girlchild was “presented dolls that did pee-pee and miniature GE stoves and irons” (Piercy, 2-3). This aligns with ideas presented be feminists that girls are forced to believe they are meant to do work within the home. In the twentieth century, second wave feminism was heavily focused on ensuring women’s rights allowing them to explore roles that were not traditional for women to take on, culturally or socially. There was a push for women to leave the home and escape the expectations of society set upon them. The miniature GE stove and doll represent an actual stove and a baby, which women at the time would have been expected by society to be responsible for the caretaking of children and the home in the 1970s. These symbols help to reinforce the idea that the girl is being pressured into becoming a typical woman who obliges to the standards of society when she grows up, even though she is just a child. This stanza displays the idea that girls were thought not able to perform laborious or mentally strenuous jobs during this period. The girlchild is only introduced to things that are socially suitable for a woman to work with at the time. 

Later, Barbie Doll presents the idea that women should appear a certain way. The girl, who has now grown up to be a young woman faces body shaming when a classmate says, “You have a great big nose and fat legs” (Piercy, 6). The classmate represents society critiquing the young girl, introducing the idea that she should be ashamed of her body. By having a classmate evaluate and critique the girl, Piercy shows that girls are introduced to the idea that they are not perfect and must change. In the next stanza, it is noted that the girl is strong and intelligent, but still “everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs” (Piercy, 11). The girl’s strength and intelligence should be of utmost importance to those making judgments about her, but instead society only focuses on the way she looks and her physical imperfections. This further shows that despite the abilities of the girl, she is not able to escape her appearance and the way people view her. This aligns with ideas from the second and third wave feminist movements since the girl is ridiculed by those around her for her appearance, despite her strength and intelligence. 

In the fourth stanza, the reader learns about how the girl is coached by society. The girl was told to “exercise, diet, smile and wheedle” (Piercy, 14). This stanza enforces the idea that the girl must compose herself a certain way and comply to what society has to say about her. It also introduces the idea that she should work to change her body by mentioning exercise and diet, most likely to make her legs more socially acceptable. Third wave feminism, coming to light in the late 1970s and 1980s, pushed even further for women to be able to break societal norms. The third wave called for women to create their own identity, ignoring all social conducts surrounding feminine and masculine traits. In both second and third wave feminism, there is a drive to eliminate this kind of criticism towards girls and women. This movement also stated that women should not have to look a certain way in order to be deemed acceptable by those around them. Feminists worked for women to able to present themselves in any way they find suitable. This stanza concludes with the most gruesome consequence of critiquing a person. Society telling the girl how to change herself is an example of what third wave feminism was fighting against.

The poem concludes with the girl finally having enough of the comments made about her appearance and actions, and committing suicide. The final stanza discusses how the girl was presented beautifully in her casket with makeup. “Doesn’t she look pretty? everyone said,” (Piercy, 23) presenting the idea that society is finally happy with her appearance and who she is. The girl had to die and be composed by an undertaker in order to be viewed as attractive by society. Once again, this supports third wave feminism because the girl could not be valued by society unless she was displayed perfectly. Society refused to acknowledge the significance of the girl’s strength and intelligence, only focusing on her appearance. Society was only content once her exterior was up to par with their demands of how a woman should maintain herself. Never once throughout the poem is the girl recognized for her strength and intellect, two characteristics that should be highly regarded and acknowledged. The final stanza of the poem is the most critical. It ties together the ideas of feminism and how without it, there is a detrimental damage to women within society. If society cannot learn to accept women for who they are, then they will begin to lose them as members of society.

As a feminist writer, Marge Piercy worked to show the way women are critiqued in everyday life. Particularly in her poem Barbie Doll, Piercy shows how from a young age girls are introduced to the idea that they should look a certain way and be able to do jobs around the house. Barbie Doll manages to show the way society tries to change girls that are not complying with the way they should look through the judgement of those around them.  Piercy took ideas from second and third wave feminism to use in her writings, displaying the harsh realities of the outcome of the pressure on young girls. Barbie Doll recognizes the issues with society, while using the feminist agenda to make such arguments. Piercy’s poem and other writings are still relevant to current feminist movements. Society has made progress in how we view women, in their work and appearance. However, there is still feminist movement today that fight for the rights of not only women, but anyone who is treated or viewed unjustly by the majority of society. Piercy’s writings accompany the ideas of feminism in a tasteful way, displaying the movements in realistic ways. Piercy’s poem Barbie Doll depicts feminist movements and the detrimental impact of society on women.
