Barbie Doll Idealism

Your decisions to comply with society’s view of “beauty” are no longer subconscious, but rather are more conscious-driven decisions. Barbie’s slender figure remains idolized; however, it has evolved from a plastic doll to a self-starving model that is photo-shopped on the pages of glossy magazines. You spend hours in front of a mirror adjusting and perfecting your robotic look while demanding your parents to spend an endless amount of money on cosmetics and harmful skin products to acquire a temporary version of beauty. Consider companies such as Maybelline, which have throughout the ages created problematic and infantilizing campaigns and products for women. More specifically consider the “Baby Lips” product as well as the company slogan, “maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s Maybelline,” that reiterates the male notions of beauty to which women are subjected.

Marge Piercy’s “ Barbie Doll” establishes the character to be a young girl who hits the stage of puberty and is then subjected to people's hurtful words that destroy her body image. Before these words she seemed to be a normal little girl playing with all the right toys. The words spoken were with intent to help the girl change her physical appearance so she could be a better version of herself, but in the end the girl felt there was no other option. She could never make everyone happy.

“Beauty is not defined by your physical features, it is defined by the heart inside your chest and the love that flows through it. ”- Imania Margia. This meaningful quote written by Imania Margia explains the true significance and message shown through both the short story “Barbie” written by Gary Soto and “Pretty Hurts” sang by Beyonce. The short story “Barbie” written by Gary Soto presents a young girl named Veronica who learned from a young age, that in order to be pretty, you must fit standards and stereotypes- Barbie stereotypes.

For example, a lot of the beauty pageants now a days are corrupted by money, greed and popularity. Sana Hassan author of The Psychological Effects of Beauty Pageants on Children, “Gone are the days when innocence and missing teeth were considered cute. Kids in child beauty pageant competitions am to look attractive and are sexualized, even as toddlers. They wear revealing outfits, flippers (fake teeth for kids who are missing front teeth), and heavy make-up. Girls in these competitions are sexualized so early on in their lives.

(“Marge Piercy: Biography”). So, reading this, “Barbie Doll” had definitely been related to her experience. Although Marge Piercy did not exactly die the way the girl did in the poem, but I suppose she was dying to be herself on the inside. In most of Piercy’s poems and other literary works, she expresses change. She dreams of social change, and feminist revival.

The first thing that comes to my mind when I hear the words “Barbie Doll” is one of my favorite childhood toys. The main character of this poem is a young girl who was born in a judgmental world. She never had the opportunity to feel satisfied or happy with herself. She was trying to please others and make a way for herself to accept and feel confident within.

The statement, “Then in the magic of puberty, a classmate said: You have a great nose and fat legs” implies that the girl is coming of age. She is beginning to mature and her body is transforming into adolescent through puberty. Puberty changes the way she sees herself. Since the classmate makes the statement about her nose and legs, the girl has focus her attention on her self-image and she knows that her legs and nose are changing; however, she does not understand the changes. The girl sees her self-image as disgusting.

A Psychoanalytical Approach to A Doll’s House Sigmund Freud, a well known psychologist, argues that childhood experience influences adult life in the pursuit of happiness. Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House is a prime example of Freud’s theory as the protagonist, Nora, regresses to her past childlike habits of happiness within a voiceless marriage. Nora is limited to mental developmental growth because she is fixated in an adolescent state. In order for Nora to truly find her identity in the end, her illusions of happiness must be shattered.

" When people make relentless efforts to become like Barbie -as possible, they are trying to be Barbie . - His representation of an ideal of beauty." ( Henderson, T. ) By sending this idea to the girls, they feel the necessity to fit in.

Orenstein argues that feminism entails women casting aside traditional feminine things and standing with strength and independence. Older Disney movies depict a girl whose problems are solved by their one wish, a handsome prince. Describing the worry a parent feels with such archaic ideals being instilled in their daughters at such a young age, Orenstein cites research showing that such influences being detrimental to a girl 's mental health. Although there is no definitive proof that

Both authors agree that society's definition of beauty is not realistic. In pearcys poem Barbie Doll.the girl ends up committing suicide because people focused to much on her looks. When she was born she was a usial baby until she went through puberty she was told she had a fat nose and fat legs.in the poem it says “everyone saw a fat nose and thick legs. This figurative language shows us that people focused to much on her imperfections. this evidence soports my claim beacuse even though girl was healthy and strong, this show that everyone focused on her fat legs had big nose and this displays that the definition of beauty is not realistic To add on she was given alot of advise to look prittier but instead she chosse suicide.

The 1950’s was a very controversial time specially for woman, during that era they symbolized the traditional gender roles; housewife’s, submissive and conservative. Surprisingly, Marilyn Monroe, Barbie and beauty pageants became very popular even though they challenged the image of an ideal woman at the time by portraying more beauty and sexuality. These icons symbolized various messages while still upholding some of the traits that dominated that era. The beauty pageants portrayed various messages regarding woman’s beauty and sexuality a very dominant one was the qualifications to be considered a candidate for Miss America.

Many people in today’s society face the challenge of self-acceptance. They either are criticized by the way they look or struggle to be who they really are without getting any criticism by society. Janice Mirikitani’s “Suicide Note” and Margie Piercy’s “Barbie Doll” are two poems that have speakers who struggle with the expectations of society. Although the tone of these two poems and the symbolism are disparate, each poems character has difficulty accepting themselves because of what others expect them to be.