Gender roles have been displayed since the beginning of humanity with the male’s ability to hunt and to feed his family and the female’s ability to nurture her newborn. In Marge Piercy’s poem, “Barbie Doll”, it shows how fitting into social norms is ridiculous because it forces females to give up their freedom to be accepted by others. Throughout the nineteenth century, many significant historical events took place such as the Vietnam war, Korean war, both of the World Wars, and the Roaring 20s. Family roles and social equality in the twenties, fifties, and eighties took place as well. Each of these events offer a new passage of feminism that allows for more right and freedom to females. 

During the first and especially the second World War, a large majority of men in America were drafted to fight across foreign grounds to either the Atlantic or the Pacific. Many jobs were left vacant and production of materials for the war was mandatory. Women moved from working in the house to producing weapons and military necessities across the assembly line. The iconic Rosie the Riveter, “We Can Do It!” propaganda was created during the second World War to ask women to help with the war cause by working in factories (“Rosie the Riveter”). The war was extremely significant for the women since it was their first opportunity for the majority of the female population in America to experience the workplace. Compared to Marge Piercy’s, “Barbie Doll”, the women took on jobs which were originally worked by men and appearance was not as important since the winning the war was the priority. The women’s efforts may have determined the outcome of the wars.

From the transition of the eighteen hundreds to the nineteen hundreds, the Roaring Twenties was another significant change for the feminist view on society. The way that women dressed changed from the oppressed long dress to short skirts. They were known as “flappers” who smoked, drank, and voted. The revolution was brought upon by Coco Chanel with the little black dress (“Coco Channel Biography”). The new female figure was known to have a hourglass look which is still often seen today. The Nineteenth Amendment was also passed in the nineteen twenties giving female the right to vote. In Marge Piercy poem, “Barbie Doll”, she signifies the mental aspect of how a girl wants to fit into society through the use of plastic surgery to have thinner legs and smaller noses, leading ultimately to her beautiful death (Marge 348-349). The idea of a perfect feminine body is brought upon by what society sees as perfect and is brought onto the younger generation at a younger age. The first wave of feminism arises in the early nineteen hundreds with the right to vote and the political issue concerning sexuality, economic and political values. Unlike the second wave of feminism, the first wave was rather conservative than revolutionary. Many women who fought for constitutional rights created the National Woman Suffrage Association which would later become the American Equal Rights Association. 

In the nineteen fifties, it was back to the family roles where the mother stayed at home to take care of the children and the father would bring home groceries after he finished his work. The change occurred right after the second World War. The creation of “The American Dream” includes a house in the suburbs, a father and mother and children. If the women were to work, they would have been in a low title job and the wage gap for male and female would have been significant. The second wave of feminism arose around the mid nineteen hundred with concern regarding the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, equality in sexuality, workplace and in the family. During the second wave of feminism the focus was related largely towards female rights concerning birth control and abortion.

The nineteen eighties were significant for women, since statistically over fifty percent of graduating college students were female and the wage gap between the male and female population began to thin. Many females begin to take titles that were significant to the American society, such as Sandra Day O’Conner, who was appointed as one of the supreme court justices and Geraldine Ferraro who was the first female to run for vice president. Both of the parents in the household could contribute the household income. Unlike the girl in “Barbie Doll”, female in the late 1900s were capable of controlling their own lives. The girl in the poem was very cautious of her anatomy, she has to rely on others opinion of her to gain confidence. The third wave of feminism fought against unequal pay in the workplace, reproductive rights, and sexuality. There is also a branching of feminism. The radical feminism includes the want to remove the concept of gender completely. Socialist feminism wants the stop of capitalism through the use of reforms. Cultural feminism encourages feminine behavior rather than masculine behaviors. Radical feminism includes a complete social change by having social dominance of women over men. Each of the branches were female different and personal views on equality in modern society.

The gender role for males and females has gained more congruency since the beginning of humanity. Gender roles are learned and assigned by society from birth with the way that each sex dresses, the toys that they play with and the ways they should act. As time progresses through the nineteenth century the multiple waves of feminism have emerged. Each stage sets a new and stronger approach on equality between both sexes. The size of the feminist crowd has also gained in population since the early 1900s.  
