Girls are taught very early in life what is expected of them. They are given dolls, miniature household appliances and “wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy” (4) as toys, preparing them for their future role as mother, housewife and pretty decoration on their husband’s arm. The poem indicates that the girl is leading a normal happy life until she reaches puberty. Someone tells her that she has “ a great big nose and fat legs” (6) which changes her whole life. These nine words will rob the child of her self-esteem and ultimately of her happiness. For the first time in her life she feels embarrassed about her body. The girl is described as having “strong arms and back, / abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity” (8 - 9) whi

ially to our children, very wisely. One careless remark can impress a young mind and influence it the rest of its life. This poem sums up the feelings of most every teenage girl, young woman, and mature woman at some point in their life. Society has given us its idea of what we should be, and it is up to us to struggle for most of our existence to achieve this goal or to learn to accept and love ourselves and each other by putting more value on our internal features and not our exterior. The key to a healthy and happy future of the female population is for our society to stop judging based on external beauty and to accept, love and respect women for who they are and what they have accomplished.

ch leads the reader to believe that she is somewhat of a tomboy and has a very straightforward personality. To fit into the typical female role, “she is advised to play coy” (12) and behave in a !

nd a pretty outfit bring her the compliments she always craved.

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Some common words found in the essay are:
Marge Piercy’s, Barbie Doll, , accept love, trying fit, external beauty,
Approximate Word count = 702
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)