The seemingly harmless Barbie doll has been a major competitor in the fashion doll industry for over fifty years. Making over $1.9 million a year from these dolls alone, it's hard to argue that Mattel, Inc., the company that owns these plastic queens, is far from creating the ultimate toy empire; However, in recent decades, Barbie has fallen short in sales and received negative feedback from concerned consumers who often question the impact these dolls have on the self-esteem and gender perspective of girls who play with They. Despite recent negative feedback from customers, Barbie's fifty-year prevalence in the toy market has undoubtedly left its influence on young girls in our society in the past. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Marge Piercy, a persevering feminist in the 1960s, wrote politically moving works of poetry to demonstrate the deprived reality of women. Marge Piercy's surprisingly powerful poem "Barbie Doll" personifies the Barbie doll as a way to emphasize the cultural impact that the social perspective of expectations has on a woman's image and personality. Piercy explains through a third-person omniscient voice that a young girl begins to suffer from the social criticism of her environment until the age of maturity. It is described that the young "child" is emotionally captivated by society and, convinced that she will receive acceptance, the child matures and is led to believe that death is the ultimate satisfaction. Undoubtedly the story shows evidence of women struggling in a patriarchal society dominated by those who believe that social standards should be set by men. Through Marge Piercy's use of diction, imagery, metaphor, and irony in her acclaimed poem "Barbie Doll," women's perception through patriarchal ideals portrays the effects of self-criticism and society's constant attempts to deteriorate one's self-esteem. Doll" demonstrates the repetition of the destructive standard that society holds for women as it strips them of their humanity. Chris Semansky, a poet with a copious eclectic body of work, examines "Barbie Doll" and concludes that Piercy's poetry serves as an ironic example of beauty and normality. Semansky explains the irony of how one is raised in the world influences one's view of what is "normal": "This is not an intentional or necessarily coercive process, but a process that adults themselves have gone through and have come to believe it is 'natural'. As Semansky argued, even women who grew up in the generation in which these patriarchal standards were maintained are convinced that the way they were raised and the ideals with which they were surrounded were completely "natural" from the point of view psychological Standards were all they were taught. With these patriarchal definitions of "normal" being as prevalent now as then, this prevents women from making decisions for themselves without criticism from others, despite the cultural change, it seems Piercy does suggest that progress has been miniscule. The poem symbolizes women more as objective beings who are "'...plasticized,' transformed into creatures who have been torn apart by their humanity" than as people simply trying to find value in themselves. self-evaluation of oneself (Semansky 38). Piercy's diction in "Barbie Doll" exemplifies the coercive standard that thesociety seems to impose on women, not only of that generation in which this poem was written but also of the current one. The words like lipstick, stove and diet mentioned in "Barbie Doll" are representative of the insurmountable respect that women have even through the innocence of simple household objects: "Dolls, stoves, irons and lipstick are all conventional things that little girls , especially in the West, is given a clue about society's expectations" (Semansky 38). With these little accessories mentioned in Piercy's poem coming along with the doll that this "little girl" was playing with, it seemed to represent the process of femininity in a degrading way as this "little girl" is portrayed as fixated on the materialistic definitions that make up a woman of that society. Interestingly, Alice Van Wart, a literature professor at the University of Toronto, describes “Piercy.” Barbie Doll" as ironic and condemning. Wart suggests that the title itself "...points to the central and controlling tool of irony and the symbolic associations between the doll and women in the poem." Because of the "plasticized" and connotation inauthentic behind the words Barbie doll, powerfully and metaphorically describes the meaning of the control that patriarchal ideals had on women Although Piercy displays a plethora of metaphors behind the use of diction in her poem, the imagery provides a vivid image. of the type of lifestyle experienced by women. Piercy's poem strongly suggests that at a young age girls are expected to look a certain way in order to gain acceptance from her peers; tries to compensate for her imperfections in other areas" (Wart 40). The images show the girl's relentless effort to be perfect by the standards imposed on her despite having achieved "Consumption at last", which symbolizes society's satisfaction with the image of the girl but unfortunately represents her death (Piercy 24). Wart argues that despite the efforts made by the girl in Piercy's poem to achieve perfection, her conflict ultimately ends as does her life: "Piercy subverts the traditional implication of sexual consummation into consummation in death." Interestingly, as Wart suggests, there seems to be a sense of irony behind the word "consummation" itself as it can represent two meanings: one meaning that the idea of ​​marriage is completed through sexual intercourse, in another the the idea of ​​oblivion as a complete way of being. Compelling dictions such as shy, satin and pink are also used in Piercy's poetry which portrays the perception of fragility and meekness in women, which can undoubtedly emphasize the fact that women were seen as helpless and fragile. Cute, satiny and pink represent the idea that women are delicate and innocent; simply by looking at the context in which Piercy uses the diction, it is evident that she wishes to give critics the idea that feminism and the connotation behind the female gender are not intimidating and weak. Thomas Sepe, an assistant professor under the guidance of Peggy Dunn Bailey, explained his views on the social imbalance and gender dysfunction inherent in Piercy's "Barbie Doll." Sepe explores the idea of ​​how the protagonist of the poem is portrayed, immediately supporting the idea that the poem gives off the perception of how women are viewed in society. According to Sepe, Piercy uses diction to exemplify the idea of ​​a woman's role in society: "Piercy's use of the word 'presented' makes the process more formal and makes the ceremony dictated rather than chosen." Highlight how diction and foreshadowing in Piercy's poetryportray the idea of ​​a weak and easy woman, while at the same time making the poem more carefree: "Piercy blends diction, simile and irony to create a unique tone of lightness that contrasts the reality of the protagonist, a contrast that is itself a mirror of life of the girl" (Sepe 2). Through this idea, Sepe argues that Piercy uses diction as a way to present women more as ideas of objectivity and control rather than as beings with identity and esteem. Despite the overpowering diction to strengthen her voice on feminism, Piercy demonstrates through countless metaphors in her 25-line poem the inequality of women and the accepted façade of the female gender. Piercy describes the problem a girl faces as he mentions in the poem that the girl proceeds to "...cut off her nose and legs..." while she also "...offered them..." to the society she believes to desire them (lines 17-18). Alice Van Wart further analyzes women's self-image during that sexist period. Wart states that "The image of the woman cutting off parts of her body indicates a growing popularity among women of using cosmetic surgery to perfect their appearance." This form of image alteration, as Wart suggests, is popular because it allows women to have the ability to change their physical appearance to gain acceptance from the social environment in which they are surrounded. Wart also argues that the mention of this in Piercy's poem implies "... a history of abuse that women have inflicted on themselves in the name of beauty", meaning that self-criticism is what ultimately leads to drastic attempts at alter your image. The image alteration mentioned in "Barbie Doll" implies that society's judgments on physical appearance have left a detrimental effect on women's self-esteem. Because of this, Piercy conveys the message that women do not inherently view themselves negatively; however, social standards degrade women's mindset of themselves due to high expectations. The Barbie doll itself, as Marge Piercy suggests, serves as an ironic example in that girls traditionally play with it, seeing it as something seemingly innocent despite underlying standards. kidnapped by a tiny plastic woman defined by his family's kingdom. The tone of "Barbie Doll" ironically does not imply any sense of animosity, which indicates that Piercy has chosen to be passive aggressive in sharing her message about female expectations in society. The irony is that the girls, portrayed as innocent and pure, unknowingly play with things that seem to criticize the women themselves. Semansky observed 1950s girl culture and concluded that parents provide girls with these dolls because of the popular impression that women are domestic: "...they believe that little girls will enjoy pretending to be a housewife or a doll Barbie because these are desires that little girls are born with." Semansky suggests that parents are also equally oblivious to the underlying message that the Barbie doll contains as they continue to push girls to live a life as a controlled being with certain accessories that society deems suitable. As has been known for decades now, the Barbie doll is still one of the main competitors in the doll market; However, improvements aimed at disarming the façade of women in general increased dramatically after works like Marge Piercy's were released to the public. As explained metaphorically in Piercy's works, the Barbie doll in her prime symbolized a representation of how women have "...expectations about the roles she will play" (Sepe 1). 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