Throughout history, societal expectations based upon gender have always been prevalent. In the early 1900’s, our nation endured the first wave of feminism, focusing mainly on legal obstacles that women faced in terms of their equality. However, as the second wave came around in the 1970’s, the transition from legal obstacles obstructing equal opportunity to how social and cultural barriers affected gender equality took place (Piercy 348). In Marge Piercy’s piece Barbie Doll, she focuses her work to reflect the obstacles within women’s lives during the 1970’s—specifically in 1973, when the piece was published. Within her poem, she touches upon several factors, including gender, Jewish identity, and class, and how these elements affected the character in her poem. With a timeline of the girl’s life, the reader is subliminally exposed to the misrepresentation of women and the societal expectations of females during this time period. As the title is self-explanatory, women, from the era of second wave feminism to present time, strive to conform to unrealistic expectations. A Barbie is ultimately only a toy, but the toy itself embodies a much deeper meaning, as it represents the misrepresentations of women that, unfortunately, are not obtainable. In relation to Piercy’s piece, an analyzation of Jennifer Scanlon’s article, Sexy from the Start: Anticipatory Elements of Second Wave Feminism, embraces the idea that women can and should embrace their physique and express themselves, all while being a strong advocate for feminism. The way one dresses is a representation of expression, but a woman should not downplay their feminine qualities to conform to a society where men determine women’s societal standards. By looking at Piercy’s piece, we see she alludes to women’s conformity of societal expectations in a subliminal way, which tells us that not only is she an advocate for feminism, but she, in turn, exposes the hardships faced by a majority of women during this time. 

“Barbie Doll” successfully denotes a clear message—what the societal expectations of women in the 1970’s were and how they affected the lives of many—the beauty standards, the levels of intelligence, etc. Piercy’s piece analyzes the lifeline of a young, Jewish girl, that ultimately ends in a self-inflected death. The title of the piece sets the stage of the poem and presents the problem women face from the moment they enter the world, and for many, until the day they die. It is clear that societies objectification of women affects mental health. It is a known fact that women were seen as inferior throughout history, ultimately never treated with equality or as the superior gender. Because Barbie Dolls are plastic, achieving their beauty is unobtainable. This piece internalizes the subliminal message of the misrepresentation of women and girls. A Barbie’s proportions, physically, are ultimately impossible to possess, while also maintaining staying healthy and alive. With constant comparisons to what she thought she was supposed to look like, how was the girl ever supposed to feel good enough? What she did not understand was the reality of it all—changing yourself to look like a model or Barbie is impossible, nor would she ever look like one. She was expected to be beautiful and to present herself in such a certain way, but she could not obtain it. The first few lines of Piercy’s poem, “This girl was born as usual, and presented dolls that did pee-pee, and miniature GE stoves and irons,” automatically alludes to the idea that a woman is expected to be a housewife from infantry (Piercy 348; lines 1-3). A girl is forced into conformity from birth. As she grew older, no matter how hard she tried to fit into the standards, she was never viewed as “sexy” or “attractive” through other’s eyes. Physically removed her insecurities still were not good enough. Suicide rates of women in the 1970’s were at their highest, ranging from 7 to almost 8,000 in comparison to about 500 to 4,000 from 1900-1960 (Eckberg 5-238). In the end, as she lay in her casket after committing suicide, she was then finally accepted by society. 

In comparison to “Barbie Doll,” Jennifer Scanlon’s work focuses on how Third Wave Feminists respond to and work off of the patriarchal standards of the Second Wave Feminism era. The woman she references from the Second Wave era is Helen Gurley Brown, who published Sex and the Single Girl, and then soon after took over Cosmopolitan magazine in 1965, working to make it an advocacy for women during a time where unrealistic societal standards for women overpoweringly conventional (Scanlon 129-130). With feminine fashion rejected during this time, Brown supported embracing dressing in ways that went against the androgynous norms, wearing makeup and promiscuous clothing, but related it to doing these things to pleasure the woman for herself, not anyone else. A major difference between the second and third waves of feminism was that once the third wave came, feminism was no longer about being defensive of women’s beauty, but embraced allowing women to beautify themselves without having to worry about being rejected by society. Many second wave feminists did not want to support the fashion of feminism—revealing clothing, makeup, etc.—and considered it anti-feminist (Scanlon 129). Third wave feminists find it their right to dress how they wanted, and do what made them feel good about themselves.  Deciphering what made someone a feminist and an anti-feminist were based upon what the majority thought, and for those who went against traditional feminist ways were considered anti-feminist, like Brown and her advocacy in embracing your body and who you are. In order to invade a man’s world, coming to terms with feeling good about yourself and confident by expressing whom you are by ignoring what society expected of you was ultimately key. 

Piercy and Scanlon’s work relate on many levels, dealing with conforming to society’s standards while trying to maintain happiness and be who you want to be in a world where men are superior. Feminism deals with breaking away from the set standards for women, and in Piercy’s piece, the reader is able to identify how tasking it is for young girls and women to be able to truly identify who they are and express who they are in a world where if they do not have every physicality of a Barbie doll, they will ultimately be rejected. By writing about this, Piercy is giving an insight to her true feelings of society—what was expected of women should be ridiculed. Brown advocates for a similar message, that by breaking away from societal norms during the second wave of feminism, one can overcome adversity and thrive in a world where women did not necessarily have it made. Together, both of the pieces provide a clear indication that as the gender looked down upon, women clearly could not and cannot expect change to happen without a unifying force of women altogether working towards a set goal of equality. It should not be that girls grow up in a world where they cannot feel accepted in their own skin, and then driven to the point of death because they will never be good enough. At the end of the day, a Barbie is a fake, plastic misrepresentation of a woman and her sexual appeal, and that is all they will ever be. The message received from both pieces is intended to provoke self-loving and empowerment. While Brown embraced the idea that wearing revealing clothing and makeup did not justify the fact a woman could not be a feminist, Piercy’s work followed a more subliminal way in supporting feminism, as she masked her point of view through a story based upon the lifeline of a girl who took her life because she would never fit in the criteria of what was expected of her to look, act, and feel. 

These two pieces emphasize the side effects that conformity has on women and how coping with set standards by breaking away from the marginalization may bring liberation. Feminism is an in depth topic with many components, as each person is entitled to their own opinions on what a woman should look, feel, how they should dress, what type of jobs they should be offered, equal wages between genders, and many more controversial topics that all lead to one big issue—gender equality. These problems all stem from one main idea, and without a fight, societal expectations will not be discarded. 
