The text I chose to research the background of is “Barbie Doll”. The background of where the opinions and stigmas in readings come from is critical for getting a thorough understanding. How society views actions and behaviors change constantly so looking into what those were during the readings time era can change the readers aspect of reading and how they interpret each part. Researching the history of the story or appearing message in the story can also help the reader create an argument for or against the author. In the text I analyzed, it takes place in the 1970’s and is focused on girl’s and women’s expectation of living. By looking into the expectations of women in this time period, we see that women were judged harshly and were seen as inferior to men, which explains to us why women’s education and business ability, like the girl in “Barbie Doll”, were gone unnoticed.

In the first round of my search for databases I found, “Women’s Magazines, the Female Body, and Political Participation”. This article taught me the expectations for women in the 1970’s and 80’s. The article mostly discussed the little respect they had in the political world but can be assumed they were given the same treatment for many professions. One part specifically stood out to me, “the female body, which was considered to be unsuitable for political work” (Railo 49). The statement is, at first glance, specifically geared towards a female’s appearance when the job is merely intellectual. But, they had complete illogical reasoning behind it. It was said that (referring to a woman’s body), “it needed rest, care, and a particular kind of clothing so as to fit into politics” (Railo 54). So essentially men’s bodies did not need rest or care but women’s bodies did. They thought this because they saw “weaknesses of the female body” that men did not have (Railo 54). The men were seen as more rational whereas the women’s weaknesses for the political world were that women were more empathetic than men, and that attribute was seen better fitting for household and childcare work. The gender barrier and classifications during this era were definitely set on women being less than men, in almost all ways. (Railo 48-62).

 As I continued my search I found Inventing the “Cosmo Girl: Class Identity and Girl-Style American Dreams”. I had never realized how big of a deal birth control, flirting, sexual drive, personal appearance and the work force were for women in the 1960’s and 70’s. This scholarly journal discusses Helen Brown’s book, Sex and the Single Girl, published in 1962. Brown first worked for the magazine Cosmopolitan and as the journal states as she worked she created a, “fictionalized woman she invented to characterize the magazine’s imaged 18-to 34-year-old female reader” (Ouellette 359). I am sure this invented woman was Barbie-like and reflected the impossible appearance standards for women. She then published the book, which was shocking for it’s time but became a huge success. Women were judged on their appearance, ignored for their intelligence and looked down upon if they were as sexual as men. This book did not change that but it helped women be more confident with what they have and do. Brown also discussed her opinions on motherhood and how it was seen as essentially mandatory. She felt women should have children if that is what they wanted and if not, be on birth control. This concept is a norm for today but thirty, forty years ago birth control was nearly a taboo. Brown’s views relied on the overall message that women are able to do the same as men and should be able to choose how they want to live their life without judgment. (Ouellette 359-383).  

Now that I have read these two articles, going back and reading “Barbie Doll” again, I feel I have a much stronger understanding of the position this girl was put in. When she was young she was given mini stoves, ovens and lipstick to play with because that is what she was expected to do when she grew older. The first text I got from a database showed me that when women tried to become something more, like working in politics, they were immediately judged, no matter their credentials, simply because they were a woman. The girl in the poem was described as to ‘testing intelligent’, but when she was made fun of for her appearance it was not of importance. When she committed suicide it was because of her appearance, her intelligence could not help her. In this time period, what I assume, she expected herself to grow up and be a housewife so her intellect was of no use in her eyes. The second article found in the database helped me to understand that it was normal for women to have their personal attributes ignored because of a flaw in their appearance or judged because of their sexual drive, even though it was and still is completely normal. I saw a connection to the poem from this article because in the poem it refers to puberty as ‘magic’ and refers to her “abundant sexual drive” as a positive thing. The article applauds views like that. Even still the girl in the poem did what she could, “exercise, diet, smile and wheedle”, to be the perfect expectation but then being unable to meet the standards of society, she did not want to live anymore. To her, it was better to be gone than live in a society she could not match. She felt death was her only way to have “a happy ending”.

Knowing the historical background of main points in a story or poem can help a person get a deeper understanding by giving an incite as to where the author is coming from. In my case, reading “Barbie Doll”, the society situation is much different than today’s society. Women are encouraged to get jobs in any field. Yes, women are still judged on appearances but it is not the main attribute women have to offer. Women can become more than just housewives. Realizing that, that was the majority and norm to be the future of women helps to understand why the girl in the poem focused on the ‘flaws’ in her physical appearance. Knowing that women’s sexuality and intellect were frowned upon or unfocused on helps to understand why the girl in the poem, like many other girls and women in that time, did not see it as value. Researching historical background on not just the poem I chose, but any story can help the reader to dig deeper into the meaning and help connect themselves to the time period in which the text was written in.
