Barbie Doll Poem by Marge Piercy
Barbie Doll
This girlchild was born as usual
and presented dolls that did pee-pee
and miniature GE stoves and irons
and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy.
Then in the magic of puberty, a classmate said:
You have a great big nose and fat legs.
She was healthy, tested intelligent,
possessed strong arms and back,
abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity.
She went to and fro apologizing.
Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs.
She was advised to play coy,
exhorted to come on hearty,
exercise, diet, smile and wheedle.
Her good nature wore out
like a fan belt.
So she cut off her nose and her legs
and offered them up.
In the casket displayed on satin she lay
with the undertaker's cosmetics painted on,
a turned-up putty nose,
dressed in a pink and white nightie.
Doesn't she look pretty? everyone said.
Consummation at last.
To every woman a happy ending.
1. A girl was born into an average household; she was meant to be a blessing from God. mixed feelings at home began to unfold. Then people in the neighborhood said she was a burden to her parents.
2. Gifted with the womb, she wore hijab, read the Quran, beautifully stitched, and played with her siblings and friends. She entered high school with dreams ahead, everyone saw in her was a girl to be married soon. Thoughts again began to unfold.
3. As she reached the threshold, she was advised to uphold the family's honor in her new home. Little dreams did not hold long, like a loose kite wandering in the sky. So she conceded to her parents and traded off her life.
4. There she is in her wedded home, preparing meals and knitting for her beloved husband and kids, baby caring, house keeping, gossiping with neighbors, putting on cosmetics, watching TV and saying Salah five times. Everyone says she is a good wife.
Death of girl child is metaphorical, not literal in the last stanza.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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3/27/2025 2:02:50 AM # 1.0.0
OKAY, HOW MANY TIMES IN THIS ENGLISH CLASS DO I HAVE TO READ ABOUT CHILDREN COMMITTING SUICIDE? CHILDREN WHO SOUND LIKE ME? I HAD THOSE SAME THINGS TOLD ME ME, SAID ABOUT ME, AND YES I'M SAD, BUT I'M ALSO GROWING OVER IT. WHY DOES EVERYTHING HAVE TO END IN EVERYONE KILLING THEMSELVES? AM I NO SAD ENOUGH WITHOUT READING THIS ALL THE TIME? ! CAN WE PLEASE HAVE A POEM WHERE THERE'S SOME SMALL REVOLT, WHERE THE PROTAGONIST OVERCOMES IT, WHERE SHE FINDS SOME STRENGTH WITHIN HERSELF? Just once, I want to read something that doesn't end in a cruel and unjust death. Yes, I know the point the poem is trying to make. However, it inspires no change in women. It only tells us that we cannot overcomes society's barriers to freedom.
this is reality hunty.....it's poetry...
Read Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou. I hope it helps.
reality*
Ikr its a struggleeeeeee