Gender Identity in Marge Piecys Barbie Doll

Dolls often give children their first lessons in what a society considers valuable and

beautiful. These dolls often reveal the unremitting pressure to be young, slim, and beautiful in a

society which values mainly aesthetics. Marge Piercy’s “Barbie Doll” exhibits how a girl’s

childhood is saturated with gender-defined roles and preconceived norms for how one should

behave. In order to convey her thoughts, the author uses familiar, yet ironic, imagery, as well as

uses fluctuating tone in each stanza to better draw attention to the relevant points of her

The first four lines of “Barbie Doll” are written in a trite, simplistic tone which represent

the normality and basic needs of infancy. It is at this point in one’s life that a child has no ability

to deviate from the norm, simply because they have no knowledge of it and are completely

influenced by what their parents present them with. The presentation of a doll and an oven,

along with lipstick (1-3), ensure that the girl will know exactly which gender role she must be.

These lines imitate the rigidity in which sexual and gender roles are defined. The tone of the

introductory stanza changes abruptly

. . .
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Approximate Word count = 1001
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)