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Barbie Q Cisneros Analysis

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I believe that in “Barbie-Q”, Cisneros is identifying society as the enemy. In the story the little girl is constantly trying to get her Barbie to be as good as the other Barbie’s. However, she has to buy them from Maxwell Street at a flea market where some are burned or soaking wet because of the toy factory that caught fire. She is justifying that her Barbie collection, even though it is not from brand new boxes, it is still a Barbie no matter where it came from. Society as a whole is telling this little girl that her Barbie’s are no good. It’s because of society that she goes to these lengths to impress other little girls. She buys burnt Barbie’s from water-stained boxes that are cheap and makes a dress when the other outfit gets worn out. …show more content…

She begs her parents for these dolls, gets them, washes them, and covers up their flaws so they seem as if they came from an actual toy store. The little girl wants to fit in! “We have to make do with your mean-eyed Barbie and my bubblehead Barbie and our one outfit apiece not including the sock dress”, the little girl sees her doll as a measure of wealth. The better and newer the Barbie, the more well-off your family is. The Barbie dolls are causing the little girl to feel insecure so that she needs to make her Barbie’s appear as if they were new. This insecurity may develop over time to a low self-esteem. Society makes it seem that women have to be beautiful, skinny housewives that are dependent on men. Barbie is contributing to these ideals. “Because we don’t have money for a stupid-looking boy doll when we’d both rather ask for a new Barbie outfit next Christmas.” The little girl feels pressured by not having a Ken doll, but at the same time all of the little girls would rather ask for a new outfit with accessories than a new Ken

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