The oppression of women has been relevant throughout history. Women have come a long way since not have any rights at all, but there is still much work to be done. Feminists have worked tirelessly to gain equality for women. In today’s society women are supposed to be equal yet still receive pressure from the media, workplace and society. Marge Piercy’s Barbie Doll describes a young woman’s development and how labels destroyed her self-esteem and eventually led to her death. This poem was written in the 1970’s but is still very relevant today. The stresses that were put on women during the 70’s are the same ones that still occur today, like being pretty, skinny, domestic duties and having other “womanly qualities”. The target audience of this poem is powerful white men. This poems relevance today shows how women are still an oppressed minority group with desperate need for change.

The structure of the poem displays the irony and unjust nature of the treatment that women endure in society. The author uses a specific scheme and structure in each stanza of the poem to show a progression.  Each stanza starts with a general statement about the girl in the poem that describes her current status. Then she states real examples that illustrate her argument. She then follows with examples of how the woman in the poem rationalizes and deals with her unfair experiences. This structure is vital to the overall meaning of the poem because it gives thorough explanation of the authors theme to the reader. Throughout the entire passage Piercy argues how unfairly treated women are in America. 

This text was originally written in 1973 at the peak of second-wave feminism in Detroit. Marge Piercy grew up in a working class family in a neighborhood sparked by racial tensions. Marge was able to experience throughout her life how oppression and tension can mold a society into something very unpleasant. At this point in history women were beginning to gain more recognition. “Within the last few years, especially since 1968, the situation has changed, On the heels of the movement to put black studies into the curriculum of schools has been a campaign for women's studies.” (Gruberg, 73). The poem written at this particular time makes it more meaningful than if it was written twenty years in the past or future. Being written when it was allowed people to actually listen and view it with a broader scope. After reading the poem people would realize how things are just now starting to turn around for women. Hopefully this would encourage people to make a change for the future after realizing their mistakes in the past.

The Barbie Doll poem describes a young woman born to a normal life who deals with the stresses put on her by a young classmate. It is important to note that the girl in this poem is of normal birth, which means she would be subject to all the same experiences that most girls of her age were at that time. The “girlchild” as referenced in the poem is given some items that will eventually shape the way she thinks and acts throughout her life. The toys you receive as a young person subconsciously model your behavior as you mature. The dolls, kitchenware and cherry red lipstick condition her to fit the mold of a women. Society says a woman should be pretty, domestic and submissive. In the first stanza Piercy says “This girlchild was born as usual and presented dolls that did pee-pee and miniature GE stoves an irons and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy.” This girl is told from her first toys that she will be doing mainly domestic duties at home in her future. The toys teach a girl that when she becomes a mother she will have the responsibility of potty-training her child; as well as cooking for all members of her family. Her life is already decided for her before she even hits puberty. For a woman like Marge Piercy by the time she has an idea of what she wants to do with her life, she has already lost her ability to choose.

Puberty is a very influential time in most people’s lives which is why it is so important to make it a positive experience. Marge Piercy even refers to puberty as “magical” in the first stanza. When the girl in in the poem goes to school she expects to learn how to be successful in her life and make friends. But when she gets there she is ridiculed and judged for the changes her body is going through. A classmate labels her as “A great big nose and fat legs”. The woman was very healthy and smart; she was very strong as well and was capable of handling herself, still she apologizes for her “fat nose and thick legs”. 

Previously women have had to deal with more political and personal abuse than they do now. In years past workplace harassment has been a big issue for women. The Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited some of the problems associated with workplace harassment (Baker, 2004). A trend that still may continue in some ways. For a long time, women held very few jobs, and the ones they did have required very little schooling. As feminists have fought throughout history, women are now able to hold any job that they desire. This resulted in a women being the runner up in our most recent presidential election. The election was covered on every news source and extensively on social media. 

Women have had to deal with more social persecution than they have ever had to before. Today women are forced to compete with each other for their beauty. Things like supermodels and famous actresses who use Photoshop and plastic surgery make it impossible for most normal woman to appear “attractive” to men. It is a fact that in almost every advertisement today that Photoshop or other software’s are used in some way to make the ad seem more appealing to the intended audience. The fashion industry benefits immensely from these ads because they manipulate women into thinking they have to look like the people in the advertisements. But in reality most women feel so insecure about their bodies due to labeling, shaming and harassment that they feel the need to spend wild amounts of money on makeup and clothes to feel pretty. As a man it is easy for me to sit here and say that women shouldn’t care what other people think about their appearance. But I can walk around and not feel compared to other godly male figures as women do. There is a social stigma that all women have to be thin, petite and beautiful, but this does not apply for men. A man can be any shape or size and not feel compared to others while escaping the pressure of societal standards. 
