Read "Barbie Doll" by Marge Piercy HERE
You may respond to any aspect of the poem.
Try to offer an emotional response first.
This should make for a lively discussion.
Please post before Tuesday's class (10/21).
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14 comments:
Hmm, well my first response is, how sad and how true. I do have one question, did she commit suicide or did she get plastic surgery. In the third stanza, it says that she “cut off her nose and her legs” which could be cutting off the fat and excess (surgery), however the next stanza suggest suicide.
This poem definitely has a strong view against societal norms and the ideal place for women in society. Despite the girl being intelligent and strong, she apologized for her appearances. Then she was told to play coy and come on hearty while exercising and smiling (Flirting) because that’s what women are supposed to do. However, in doing this, she is neglecting her strengths.
The ending is somewhat sarcastic. “Doesn’t she look pretty,” is ironic because if these people had said this to her in the beginning, maybe this would’ve never happened (If we were to assume she committed suicide). “Consummation at last.\To every woman a happy ending,” is yet another sarcastic remark.
The title as well is symbolic but I’ll let someone else cover that.
I agree with Charlie in feeling a sense of sad reality after reading the poem. The girl seemed fine in every way until her physical appearance was brought to attention. This poem definitely stresses the high and even unrealistic expectations that society places on women. Also, this shows how society imposes judgment on people based on superficial aspects such as physical appearance instead of personality or intellect.
The title "Barbie Doll" draws the connection to the plastic toys which epitomize the values that society places on every girl. And after the girls become subject to the standards of society and peer pressures they become nothing more than barbie dolls. They posess nothing beyond physical appearance and are in essence dead, "in caskets".
While I'm sure there are many other poems written about the same or similar topics, "Barbie Doll" is so powerful because it does not dance around the issue at all. The standards society holds for women and the pressure they put on themselves to fit into that mold is antiquated, degrading, and often harmful, as in the poem.
Once the girl hits puberty and is told she has "a great big nose and fat legs," things start to change. But the poem shows the reader that the ideal against which women are judged is engrained into their minds from early childhood, when they are given "dolls.../miniature GE stoves and irons/and wee lipsticks." I thought it was interesting how the poem referred to her as a "girlchild," which sounds generic and impersonal, just like Barbies and the unrealistic, carbon copy image that society imposes upon women.
it's kind of a bitter/angry poem. it makes me pretty at the role society has shaped women to fill, which we are only just starting to recognize and acknowledge as a problem.
the poem seems to have two different tones to it:
the first is bitterness, especially towards the irony of people being more appreciative of her in death because of her fake beauty than in life when she was perfectly gifted, but not physically perfect. (In the "magic of puberty" a hurtful comment is made, and "in the casket" they compliment her) and in that she had to give up her natural gifts and "her good nature wore out", in order to "play coy...exercise, diet, smile and wheedle"
the second is an objective voice. this is found in the first three lines of the second stanza. totally objective, it evaluates the girl's health, "abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity", her intellegence, "strong arms and back". many of these observations are not something that society generally values in women, and compliments them on, which is why this voice is outside of the influence of emotion and the mental model society mold
also another thing i wanted to point out was the last stanza's description of the woman dead in the casket. it actually relates to the title really well cuz it sounds a lot like a new barbie doll in its box. (the casked is the box) she is displayed on satin, the make up is painted on, the nose is plastic and turned up, dressed in a pink and white nighty, etc.
*it makes me pretty angry
Like everyone above me, I believe this poem is about how society shapes a woman's image. Charlie mentioned surgery when he talked about how she "cut off her nose and her legs", and I believe that as well. It angers me that society makes people change who they really are. No matter how good she was, she wasn't good enough for society. I have hatred towards a society like that. Oh wait! That's our society.
I actually wanted to refer to the title of the poem. Tommy talked about it. Barbie represents what society thinks a girl should be when she grows up. She should be voluptuous, with a huge bossom and a tiny waist. As we all know, Barbie would tip over and fall if she really had those measurements. It was a humorous take on a rather sad poem.
Also, this poem talks about the imperfections of every one of us. We all have imperfections, and people may tell us to "diet" and "exercise", but it is society that corrupts us all. The little girl symbolizes the inner secrets we all hold, the imperfections we try to hide, and the society she lives in, is, well, our society.
My initial response to the poem was a kind of shame almost. This is because I know that the reader is hitting on terrible, but also very true and accurate points that are very apparent in our society today. The expecations for girls in our society to be perect are through the roof, they are held to so many standards and this poem recognizes this.
The girl in the poem is intelligent and healthy, but people cannot look past her "great big nose and thick legs. She eventually changes them, giving into the pressure of society, but ultimately becoming a Barbie Doll, or a plastic shell of a human being. Objectifying women at it's finest, which to me is pretty disgusting.
I like this poem because the author is not beating you over the head with the message, she slips in the fact that our society is a very superficial one, only caring about the outside of a person and not paying attention to the person on the inside. It is a sad realization, but nonetheless true.
I agree with the moral of this poem. Society breeds young girls to thrive off of narcissistic comments on their beauty. It is unrealistic to try and be a human "Barbie doll". No one is plastic and perfect.
To further the image of true femininity in our society, the little girl plays with stoves, practicing her impending housewife duties. Then with lipstick, a common beauty product and silly dolls. All of these details, play into the harsh label of some perfect, overly feminine, ideal women.
When she finally cracks under the constant societal pressure surrounding her, she literally just cuts off the parts of her body that don't fit into the Barbie image. This symbolic gesture, expresses the extremely warped idea of beauty, that she must face throughout her life until she dies.
I understood the poem similarly to everyone else. It compares the happiness of women with direct corellation to a Barbie doll. The pressure women feel to fit the "norm" are extreme and, in this case, can lead to suicide. The part of the poem I felt was most disturbing was the comparison of the girls fading good nature with the "withering of a fan belt." The idea that society slowly but surely withers away the free will of women is disturbing.
I also understood an idea of the poem to be ignorance is bliss. Children do not judge or compare others to ensure perfection, they rather accept each other as individuals.
The topic of women being portrayed only as “pretty little fools” has been analyzed and depicted in countless scenes and text, however this particular poem was able to grasp the concept fully. It presented a clear depiction of what usually happens to women once they try and go against the “norm” and not give into this image that the media sets for them. We see at the beginning of the poem how the traditional stereotypes of the “average woman” were thrown in her face, from the dolls with make up to others giving her advice to diet and exercise. Despite the fact that the girl was intelligent no one could look past her “fat nose and thick legs”, and see her for who she really was. At the end of the poem she gives into what the media wants her to be, and gets rid of the things that made her stand out from the crowd thusly, defying what everyone wanted her to be. Ironically, once she is dead and lying in her casket, we are told that her face is painted up with cosmetics and everyone finally complements her on her beauty. This is a tragic but happy ending because she finally fits into the “norm”.
Thus poem actually made me very angry because there are people in this world that still have this perception and idea of women, I just want to shout "WHO CARESSS!!!!!!"
ugh!! This poem just made me so angry! I really liked the writing because it hit such a nerve. As I was reading I felt like I knew what was coming but it still made me so angry at the end! Just that line, "To every woman a happy ending" sent chills down my spine. I know that the author was saying this in a satirical manor, yet the idea that people believe this at all its frustrating.
I think beyond have a view against societal norms, this author is trying to make a statement. She is showing how much the judgements of other people can affect us. We as humans allow the ideas of others to defin who we are. The image of a "Barbie Doll" is that stereotypical girl that every five year old wants to look like. However, when we look at the Barbie Doll life sized, we see how truly abnormal she is. To me, this author is saying more than that societal norms hurt. She is saying that people, especially women, spend their entire lives trying to satisfy others, slowly tearing pieces of themselves away until all that is left is that fake image of Barbie. What's left is simply a fake and still abnormal woman.
I found this poem as a very matter-of-fact commentary on society and how it affects people, specifically women. I agree in that the title is a symbol of the superficiality that society emphasizes and supports. Although literally the girl receives plastic surgery i believe it shows that society posions and destroys the attributes that made her unique. Barbie dolls are known for their "perfect" features as well as for their uniform design. Society promotes barbie dolls. Society overwhelms girls with the belief that unique is bad and that everything should look like a barbie. This girl was an innocent intelligent girl and even she could not resist the consistent bombardment on her "large nose and fat legs".
I found the sarcastic tone in the final stanza was a strong method for portraying that what society wants of women is not what is best for them. It managed to drive the point that "is that really what you wanted?" It alludes to the question of "Is beautiful deemed by society?" with the statement "Doesn't she look pretty?"
Overall this poem is disheartening but true about society and its effects on women.
I found this poem highly ironic, and like everyone else, belive that it examplifies the impact that society and peer pressure has on women.
I believe that the complex diction in this poem (as there were more than a couple words I don't know)play into the theme of how no matter how intelligent a woman is in society, she will only be seen for her "fat nose on thick legs"
In response to Charlie's question of plastic surgery versus suidice, I think that the woman commited suicide, which plays into the theme of tragedy.
At first this story makes confused, but by the time I reach the end my confusion is changed to sadness. I wish that I had no idea what the author was talking about, but I understand it all too well. I feel like society and it's expectations for women can have this effect.
I think that this poem is a commentary on our society. The title "Barbie Doll" sets the scene. I expected the poem to be about a Barbie Doll type girl. The stereotypical, tall, skinny, pretty girl. I like the contrast that the piece gives though. It drives home the point more. This girl was perfectly happy until others told her she shouldn't be. It's tragic. I completely agree with this notion. Society does dictate what we "should" look like and act. To be honest I think its ridiculous.
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