Throughout her poem "Barbie Doll", Marge Piercy narrates the life of a "girlchild." A "girlchild" who was born perfect, grew up the proper way, and had all of the toys and whistles associated with being a female child. The child grew up healthy, intelligent, strong, and mature, but when she hit puberty she got picked on for having a fat nose and thick thighs. This was a all the "girlchild's" classmates saw and they continued pointing out her flaws, so one she decided to cut off her thighs and her nose because she was tired of being picked on. As a result, the "girlchild" passed away, and while in the casket the mortician made a putty nose for her, so others would be able to stare at her. The people who viewed her at this kept saying how pretty she looked, with the sculpted, better shaped nose. Because of these compliments and a better nose after death, the "girlchild" had a happy ending. Through this explanation, Piercy is able to bring together the absurd actions that females will do in order to fit in and to become something they are not. The purpose of Piercy's poem is to get the audience thinking about the unrealistic standards they set in society for women. This poem identifies the constant anxieties that come along with puberty and self-image in a world that demands so much of everyone, especially women. Piercy specifically uses the structure of her poem and imagery to portray the message that society is not always accepting of people who do not represent a "Barbie Doll."
Piercy uses the structure of her poem to help portray her message through a story. This is a free verse poem and has no rhyme scheme, but is split into four stanzas with each stanza representing a different part of the "girlchilds" life. The first stanza sets the scene by describing Barbie accessories, such as "miniature GE stoves and irons and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy," and by also describing how the girl was just a normal girl. The girl was born as usual and grew up just like everybody else until she his puberty. The last line in the stanza serves as the transition from a young and happy girl to a girl who is being bullied by society for her imperfections. The second stanza then goes on to explains that she is a perfectly healthy, strong, and intelligent girl on the inside, but on the outside the girl is not excepted by society, even though she is perfectly healthy. The girl is not accepted by society and her classmates because she has a fat nose and thick thighs. The third stanza shows how society is forcing this perfectly healthy girl into unhealthy habits. The girl "was advised to play coy" and to "exercise, diet, smile and wheedle" just to change the way she looks. Although she did not have to change, the pressure from the people around her were forcing this change upon her. At the end of the stanza, the girl pays the ultimate price to be accepted into society. The price she paid was cutting off her nose and her legs. She could not live with herself anymore and the pressure to be something that she wasn't. The last and final stanza serves as a conclusion, or ending, where Piercy shows the main theme of the poem: the only way society can accept the girl is if she is perfect. This girl was self-conscious when it came to her body. She was unable to decide the shape of her nose and the size of her thighs, but this was something she had to live with. Her peers and the world around her was forcing a change on her that was unrealistic her somebody of her character. This "girlchild" was unable of portraying the "ideal woman" of the time and unfortunately that was not something society was able to accept at the time. By using this story to portray her message, Piercy is able to challenge her audience members to think about the standards for all people in society today and to think about the so-called standards are healthy and reasonable.
Another device Piercy uses to portray her message is imagery. The imagery used in this poem is very dominant because Piercy uses very strong, and descriptive, words and sentences. For example, the words she uses in the first couple lines, "and presented dolls that did pee-pee/ and miniature GE stoves and irons/ and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy." It is easy for one to imagine the little Barbie accessories that children play with. Most people can relate to the little houses, the Barbie cars, and all of the clothes, that attract younger kids to the dolls allowing for an immediate image to be presented into the audience member's mind. Piercy also uses great imagery to show the "girlchild's" experiences with great detail. The girl is described as possessing strong arms and a strong back indicating that she is healthy. The details that the girl had a fat nose and thick thighs are unfortunately shared, but this is to show that she was not perfect. She was not perfect, but she let society control her mind and who she was resulting in the girl suffering the ultimate price: death. The death and the funeral are described with phrases such as "In the casket on satin she lay," "cosmetics painted on," "putty nose," and "dressed in a pink and white nightie." These details help the audience put an image to the girl looked like at her funeral. Yes, these are gruesome and morbid details, but through them Piercy is able to portray her theme. With the phrases, “Doesn’t she look pretty? everyone said./
Consummation at last.
/To every woman a happy ending.” Piercy is able to show that society is finally accepting her because she has been made over, even though it is not truly herself. This, however, is not the way things should be. Women are a huge part of society, and without them society would not function. Women-in fact, all people-need to be accepted for who they are. When everyone is accepted, healthy standards are set and people are able to carry on. Not everyone is going to represent a "Barbie," and society needs to be more accepting of this truth.
Piercy effectively used these two devices together to portray her message. The words chosen, the descriptions used, and the comparison to a Barbie Doll, allowed for the audience to truly realize the harm they can do by setting "standards" for women to follow. Piercy wanted women to be more than just people who sat around brushing their hair, painting their nails, and playing the perfect person. In order to do this though, they need to break away from society, accept themselves, and make something of themselves. Piercy was able to effectively portray this message throughout her poem "Barbie Doll."
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