Marge Piercy (March 31, 1936 / Detroit, Michigan)

This is frighteningly true. So many young people, particularly girls, are told how to look and who to be and when they take that on board the results are disastrous.

I'LL RESERVE MY COMMENT TIS BE PENDING
THUNDERIOUS THIGHS UPON FAT LEGS TWAS HER APPENDAGE
AKIN A MILLION WATT BULB, NUDE FROM REAR SHE WAS UPENDED
THE HUMOR LOST UNDENIABLY COY, NOTHING GAINED, NOTHIMG LOST, SANS OFFENDING.

From my childhood school lessons remembering a quote which not possible to forget through out the rest of life...the poem reminds me again...Those who want to please everybody can please none....it was that lesson. Here poet paints the sample of that class of women who simply think themselves nothing but the doll made of flesh and blood. Beauty signifies how do you project your youness, not only by the general appearance of the object. This much.

I think the poem is a criticism of society's impossible standards of beauty that can only be achievable in death. The poem uses Barbie, which we all know to be perfect in all aspects (mental, emotional, physical) , and describes her experiences while alive. Unexpectedly, people do not praise or see her for her strengths, whether in terms of her health, beauty or strength, but focus myopically on what they perceive to be her fat nose and thick legs. The unfortunate result is what we see happening to more and more adolescent girls: Barbie goes under the knife. The incident happens to cost her life (literally or metaphorically) . It is poignant that she is only seen as pretty when she is dead, equipped with a false nose and painted with cosmetics.

The following poem discusses the sexist social dictates women are bombarded with from the start of youth.The barbie doll has become the ideal depiction many females emulate to be; thus, placing a sterotypical label women are pressured to fulfill. Noteworthy, is how generally favorable male attributes like...healthy, tested intelligent, possessed strong arms and back, abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity are ignored; though if a male exhibited such traits they would be encouraged, admired, and, praised not eschewed. Therefore, look at the stereotypical representation of a male to display strength, fertility, and handiness. Compare this to today's hackneyed expressions that minimizes and generalize a women's full potentialsatire goth is emphasised when a male is unable to perform well in physical activities he is degraded by the words Stop acting like a girl or the supporting terms of encouragement like Hi, ladies; fertility is centered when a male is glorified for his promiscuous conduct with the words stud, player, or ladies man while, females are belittled with words like bitch, slut, whore, or skunk bag when behaving likewise; handiness speaks for it's self with archetypical expression handyman or this is a man's work/job. One should acknowledge the time Piercy wrote her poem, which indicates and explicates the level of frustation women felt towards these social dictates, considering that the second-wave of feminism was occurring at the moment. Nevertheless, Piercy addresses and vents out lightly her rage towards the stereotypes women are marked, objectifying the individual to an image of a doll.

Society values beauty over any other value a person can have. “She was healthy and tested intelligent. The word healthy has a connotative meaning of having good physical, mental or social condition. This shows that she could have had a good skill in making friends and had a good social life. She also could have had a good physical health. These are all great skills to have that many people strive to achieve, but unfortunately society did not take the time to see these qualities for society only looks on the outward appearance. “Possessed strong arms and back” the author compared the girl possessing strong arms and back to a Barbie doll because Barbie dolls are made out of hard and “strong” plastic. But when someone purchases a Barbie doll they usually don’t look to see if the doll possesses strong arms or a back, they look for the doll’s beauty. “Abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity” The author conveyed that through puberty, the girl matured as everyone else and had a sexual drive as much as any other girl or boy her age. Though she had a sexual drive the same as any other person did, people didn’t see that in her, they just saw her fat nose and thick legs.

who is being desribed in this poem?
why the use of the word 'girichild'

Beauty is indeed only skin deep laid bare in this delightful poem a pleasure to read, ...regards

The derisive imagery and ironic tone of the poem denounce the patriarchal system and gender discrimination of the modern society. The supposed perfection of the female body that this poem idealizes is simply not achievable. In reality a small percentage of female population would live up to the standards set for them. The woman’s attempt to emulate Barbie’s appearance is a deviation from her originality. This process of transformation is inherently destructive for the woman that forcibly undergoes changes which are contrary to her natural behaviors. The poem holds a mirror up to our own vanity and reveals the rampant destruction of self-worth that comes from comparing the normal to the unreal. Piercy has successfully diverted the reader’s attention to the fact that forcing the people, especially women, into restrictive roles and ideals may prove disastrous, leading to emotional conflicts that are often difficult if not impossible to resolve. The standards set for them are too high to achieve and resultantly many women may fall into depression and low self esteem.

Just be yourself! don't listen to what this stupid modern society sais...Everyone is beautiful in his/her unique way and don't forget that true beauty comes from within, people!