Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy
Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy
1. In approaching the assignment question, I took as a starting point from an unknown guest comment:” From the moment she is born, this girl is exposed to the expectations of society and goes through life encountering the harsh realities of not meeting those expectations. The need to live up to the world’s idea of beauty fuels years of severe self scrutiny that tears down any and all of her self confidence- preventing her from loving any part of herself. The constant peer cruelty and pressures to conform to society’s ideal image is staggering. From the moment a girl is born, she is presented with dolls, miniature stoves, irons “(Google search engine,2010) My argument supports this and I added that the person being described here refers to the cultural and societal expectations that American culture and other cultures places on children, particularly young girls. The Barbie doll product was conceptualised on these expectations and the American culture was the Genesis of the cultural environment, therefore every young girl wanted to be Barbie! Girls are expected to play with stoves and irons, which are products that symbolises how to be a good mother and housewife and lipsticks taught her not to go out without wearing makeup and finally the Barbie Dolls with the perfect bodies serve as models for them. A young girl begins to learn what she should be for society and not to deviate from the norm.
2. The female gender is stereotyped and a perfect example is the way Hollywood has portrayed women as sex symbols.Bridgitte Bardot and Marilyn Munroe are prime examples. Men wanted their wives or girlfriends to emulate these images. During the sixties we had Twiggy with the ultra thin body and every woman wanted her body. The significance of the female gender are objects of desire by men and there a certain expectation of the patriarchal system. The supposed perfection of the female body is not achievable, if you are born with very good
1. In approaching the assignment question, I took as a starting point from an unknown guest comment:” From the moment she is born, this girl is exposed to the expectations of society and goes through life encountering the harsh realities of not meeting those expectations. The need to live up to the world’s idea of beauty fuels years of severe self scrutiny that tears down any and all of her self confidence- preventing her from loving any part of herself. The constant peer cruelty and pressures to conform to society’s ideal image is staggering. From the moment a girl is born, she is presented with dolls, miniature stoves, irons “(Google search engine,2010) My argument supports this and I added that the person being described here refers to the cultural and societal expectations that American culture and other cultures places on children, particularly young girls. The Barbie doll product was conceptualised on these expectations and the American culture was the Genesis of the cultural environment, therefore every young girl wanted to be Barbie! Girls are expected to play with stoves and irons, which are products that symbolises how to be a good mother and housewife and lipsticks taught her not to go out without wearing makeup and finally the Barbie Dolls with the perfect bodies serve as models for them. A young girl begins to learn what she should be for society and not to deviate from the norm.
2. The female gender is stereotyped and a perfect example is the way Hollywood has portrayed women as sex symbols.Bridgitte Bardot and Marilyn Munroe are prime examples. Men wanted their wives or girlfriends to emulate these images. During the sixties we had Twiggy with the ultra thin body and every woman wanted her body. The significance of the female gender are objects of desire by men and there a certain expectation of the patriarchal system. The supposed perfection of the female body is not achievable, if you are born with very good