A.M. Homes’ “A Real Doll” is about a young boy, about 13 or 14, who becomes sexually attracted to his little sister’s Barbie doll.  He acts on his feelings, and the Barbie and he start a relationship.  Eventually, the relationship leads to him drugging and having sexual intercourse with Barbie.  Not only does the boy do sexual things with Barbie, he also does them with Barbie’s male counterpart, the Ken doll.  Upon first glance, this story might seem like an insanely weird fetish story; however, looking at the time period that the story is set in explains a lot of the strange things Homes wrote about. The adolescent sexuality found by the boy and the Barbie doll character in A. M. Homes’ short story, “A Real Doll” is inspired by the time period it was written in and was influenced by the 1990s society. 

For starters, experts say that there are numerous societal factors that influence the amount of sexuality in adolescents.  One factor which increases sexuality in the younger generation are initiation ceremonies such as a religious ceremony, a graduation, or moving out (Barry).  The text tells that the boy is around age 14 by giving him responsibility when he is taking care of his little sister, he spends his own money at Toys R Us, and when he uses language such as “dick”. Most children enter high school around age 14 so the main boy was most likely in, or about to start, his first year in high school. His graduation from middle school could be interpreted as his graduation from childhood and his first step on the road to adulthood, taking on new responsibilities and being seen as more than just a kid.  Sexual activity increases with a person’s age (Meschke).  In high school, sex was a lot more prevalent and students became more familiar with it.  It is possible that as sexual activity becomes more normal, some of the boy’s friends his age were beginning to partake in sexual activities.  This boy was influenced by this transition from middle school to high school.  When he sees the Barbie, he sees more than just a girl doll, he sees a real life woman.  He says “I looked at her.  Barbie's eyes were sparkling blue like the ocean on a good day.  I looked and in a moment noticed she had the whole world, the cosmos, drawn in makeup above and below her eyes” (Homes). This quote talks about how he sees the Barbie as more than just a doll his sister plays with.  He sounds like a romantic, staring into her eyes and seeing the whole world and the cosmos.  Due to this ceremony and transition to high school, the boy is in a more sexual world so when the opportunity arises, he takes it and has sex with the Barbie doll.  

Another factor that leads to adolescent sexuality is the recent commonality of premarital sex.  Decades ago, it was considered a sin and a socially unacceptable act.  Women would be considered whores if they committed premarital sex.  As years went by, premarital sex became a more accepted thing to do (Barry).  With each generation it becomes more and more common.  Because of this, the boy is more open to the idea of premarital sex with the Barbie because he sees her as his girlfriend.  This acceptance of premarital sex can be contributed to effective forms of contraceptive and culture.  During the 1990s when this was written, birth controls and condoms were becoming for effective and therefore more prevalent in people’s sex lives.  From 1990 to 1997, the adolescent use of contraceptives jumped 11% for females and 14% for males (Meschke).  With a drastically reduced risk of pregnancy, premarital sex grew more popular because it was for pleasure, not for reproductive reasons.  In the story, even though the Barbie is a doll and incapable of being impregnated, the concept of premarital sex purely for pleasure purposes is still in both characters’ minds.  Neither of them want to have a child, they just want to have sex because it feels good and since the risk of pregnancy is lower in this culture, they feel safe to have sex.  “I rubbed the thin line, the back of her legs and the space between her legs.  I turned Barbie's back to me so I could do it without having to look at her face” (Homes). In this part of the story, the Barbie and the boy are having sex and he has to flip her over so he cannot see her face.  This shows that the sex was purely for pleasure and for no other reason because he has no connection with her.  

A third factor that is increasing sexuality in adolescence is the liberation of women.  As women become more respected and treated equally in a society, the sexuality in society also increases (Barry).  Decades ago, women were confined to the home, they could not show any skin, and they were considered social outcasts and whores if they had premarital sex.  Over the past 20 years or so, women have become liberated in the way that they can do more things, they are independent, they can dress how they want, and they can sleep with whoever they want.  This freedom has led to revealing clothing for both men and women, pornography, and the normality of sex.  During this time period, more revealing clothing was becoming more popular for both genders.  Men were starting to wear tight fitting shirts and tank tops.  Women were starting to wear bikinis and clothing that showed off their figure.  This clothing is causing more physical attraction between sexes.  Barbie dolls are dressed in these same types of clothing and this is one of the reasons the boy is so attracted to her.  He sees her as a real, attractive woman.  “Barbie was wearing a strapless yellow evening dress.  Her hair was wrapped into a high bun, more like a wedding cake than something Betty Crocker would whip up.  There seemed to be layers and layers of angel's hair spinning in a circle above her head.  She had yellow pins through her ears and gold fuck-me shoes that matched the belt around her waist” (Homes). This is an example of the boy noticing what the Barbie is wearing.  He sees her in a strapless dress, a piece of clothing women could not wear 40 years ago, and is incredibly attracted to her.  Revealing clothing has a direct relationship with the sexuality in a society (Barry).  The clothing shows off the Barbie’s legs, her breasts, her fancy hair, and her tight waist line.  This is much more of a provocative outfit than was found in the 1940s and prior to that.  If the boy had seen her in a thick, loose dress that covered from her neck to her feet he may not be as physically attracted to her.  The physical attraction to the Barbie doll caused the boy to be so interested in her and eventually drug and have sex with her. 

Another aspect that contributes to the sexuality in adolescents is pornography material. In the 1990s, playboys and other pornographic material was increasingly popular and easy to acquire. Sexual freedom increases with an increase in masturbation (Barry). The boy mentions when he is rubbing the Ken doll’s bump, it is like a porno. This shows that the boy is familiar with pornos.  If the boy frequently looking at porn magazines and pornos, it will familiarize him with sex. This is why the boy did such weird things with the two dolls like finish inside the Ken doll and stick half the Barbie into his mouth. 

In conclusion, there are many factors that influence adolescent sexuality was highly influenced by the culture in the 1980s time period.  These factors include clothing choice, transitions and ceremonies in life, the switch from sex for reproductive purposes to sex purely for pleasure purposes, and the increase in advanced, effective types of contraceptives.  The boy’s in A. M. Holmes’ “A Real Doll” sexual activity and interest is a result of this culture.  He is subject to a more sexual world with more sexual people around him so when he sees an attractive Barbie doll in provocative clothing, he goes a little crazy and jumps all over the opportunity to have sexual intercourse with the doll. 
