Analyzing Marge Piercy's Poem 'Barbie Doll'

In the poem Barbie Doll, it talks a lot about a woman’s appearance and what she looks like is what is most important in her life. Although it is a children’s toy, a Barbie doll exemplifies a woman with a perfect body exonerating beauty. This poem talks about a life since birth to the end of life at a funeral. The main character in the poem never had a chance to live life to the fullest because she was always trying to be accepted by others. The author talks many times about the main characters nose and legs, and it gets to the point where the girl starts to cut them. This poem was written in 1969 a year in which many women liberation groups were forming and the breaking of womanly roles was taking place. The author used different tones throughout the poem to help readers understand it and show what Marge Piercy was trying to show us.
The first stanza goes on to describe the toys that the young girl plays with such as the “stove, and irons” I feel that these are examples of what women are “supposed” to do in that time period of the 1960’s. Then she goes on to talk about the “magic of puberty” this shows that the little child is growing up, and is beginning to mature. She says that her body is beginning to change, and refers to how she is going to suffer, and the pain that will come with the transformation. The quote “you have a great big nose and fat legs” is referred to several times in the poem because after puberty the main character starts to question her physical