The Miniature Social Values Reflected in Barbie: A Critical Reading of Marge Piercy’s Poem: Barbie Doll Jersey Zheng College

Barbie doll as a popular icon in American culture has been carried with a long history. However, it is also a controversial toy that often critic by its unrealistic body image and the women stereotype imposed on her. Marge Piercy’s poem presents the theme about women’s loss of self-esteem and the coercion of external forces through the Barbie dolls. This paper aims to take a textual analysis of the subject matters and images the author’s view from a critical perspective. Irony and satiric tone are also used to reinforce the prevailing trend of twisted social and cultural values throughout the poem.

Starts with an unfamiliar word “girlchild”, the author emphasizes the infant’s biological gender, which seems to degrade one’s gender identity. The girl was born with nothing especially and received a typical toy, thus leaving she a conventional role and foreseeable prospect of a female character. For example, the doll was carried with “miniature stoves” and “iron”, symbolizes her domestic role—a household worked in the kitchen. Besides, the word “miniature” and “wee lipsticks” indicate the “normal” image in the adult forces world in miniature. With a potentially patriarchal value, the adult forces women to stay inside, at home or...