The theme of the story is to show how Barbie dolls are negatively influencing young girls and the drastic change they had on young girl’s observations of relationships, self-image, and childhood innocence. At a young age, these girls are creating stories of infidelity and aggression that mimic how relationships are viewed through the media. “Every time the same story. Your Barbie is roommates with my Barbie, and my Barbie’s boyfriend comes over and you steal him okay?” (Cisneros, pg 576) This is giving girls a distorted insight of what occurs in normal relationships. These stories, the young girls create using theses dolls, make it seem okay if these types of unhealthy relationships occur.
The Language of “Barbie Doll” It is no coincidence that Marge Piercy named this poem, “Barbie Doll.” In this short poem Pierce shows exactly how our society is and the expectations that is has on every girl in it. The poem has four stanzas, each one I interpreted as a different era of life that the character is going through. The first stanza describes her when she was a small child and growing until she was a young preteen. The second stanza describes her as a bit more mature girl, who had a lot of things going for her and a lot to offer. In the third stanza I could tell by the descriptions that she is a young adult, and is being pressured by the real world to be “perfect” in every way.
3-Page Essay #1 “Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy On a daily basis the media feeds us images of what they describe as perfect and beautiful people. From magazines, television, films, and even toys, society provides a mold of how women should look and act. More and more everyday woman are surrendering to the pressures of society and mold themselves into what they believe is ideal. In Marge Piercy’s “Barbie Doll”, the girl in the poem is very young when she hears a few careless words about her nose and weight. After that, she can only view herself as a big nose and fat thighs.
“Barbie-Q” In “Barbie-Q” Sandra Cisneros writes a creative, childlike reality in a short story. The setting takes many girls back to their younger years when they would have play dates and dream about the new Barbie’s being released. With the point of view of children excited for any toy they can play with brings back many memories for people and she can reminisce about their childhood. The plot shows the struggles of a family who may not be able to afford more than the next family which is why the girls only have one a piece. The setting being so life like can be a familiarity for so many women.
Between the perfect Barbie dolls, the perfect girls on social media, the perfectly airbrushed celebrities in popular magazines, and the less than perfect friends who point out all of one’s flaws, how can these girls not feel less than perfect and, therefore, strive for an unfortunate, unobtainable, dastardly goal called perfection? The most popular and well-known toy among little girls is the Barbie, but this popular toy is a leading cause of teenage girls’, and women’s, eating disorders and insecurities. The first Barbie made its debut in 1959, as the ideal role model for girls. Barbie was perfectly skinny, had a perfect family and boyfriend, perfect hair, and the perfectly unobtainable and unrealistic body measurements of 39-19-33. This “perfect” doll was not only new to the world, but she was highly desired by all girls because of how beautiful she was.
For others, beauty is purely a woman’s charm, intelligence, or personality. However pageant girls are taught that “beautiful” is a woman who is thin, wears a lot of make-up, has fake hair, bleached teeth and spray on tans. Considering this, one might think ,,Have child beauty pageants gone too far?‘‘ 1960 marked the first child beauty pageant in America and started a major American trend. Children are now the fastest-growing segment of the beauty pageant market, with annual children's competitions attracting an estimated 3 million children, mostly girls. The girls that compete in these beauty contests are aged 2/3 to 10 years old and they all have one goal: win the tiara and the money.
Through her unconventional femininity and rebellious approach to life, Jordan epitomized a breed of young women who threatened the traditional roles and expectations of their gender. Due to the prominence of the flapper image during the Jazz Age, Fitzgerald created the character of Jordan Baker to fit this stereotype. When Nick first encounters her, she is “extended full length at her end of the Buchanans’ divan”. This relaxed position suggests that she has a care-free attitude, which was common for females in this era. The narrator also claims that Jordan’s “complete self sufficiency draws a stunned tribute from him”.
My intelligence was offended when Teacher Barbie came out in the 90’s but had to be recalled because she didn’t wear panties. Mattel that was tasteless and wrong. I never understood the whole concept of playing with a teenage doll when I was little. What were girls thinking? Didn't they play with dolls to change diapers and feed them?
It is okay to help teach your daughter proper behaviors for when in public (Saying “Yes ma’am, no ma’am”, Being aware of surroundings, not talking with mouth full, dress accordingly etc.) and encourage them to be a little bit competitive. Toddlers and Tiaras is a perfect example of what happens when mothers do not do this, or take it to the extreme. There are 5 year old girls up on stage in provocative outfits meant for women over their twenties. Research show most mothers enter their daughter into this pageant for bragging rights.
These dolls are sold in over one hundred and forty countries. Some people view this doll as just a toy item for young girls to play with, and others see it as much more than that. Some people think that the doll is perfectly fine for their little girls to play with and do not find a problem with it at all. Other parents find this doll completely unacceptable for multiple reasons. Their reasons include the way it makes little girls think they are supposed to look, the body of a Barbie is not realistic, and it causes superficial thoughts, or causes self-image and self-esteem problems.