Barbie Doll by Marge Piercy

Very nice poem. Although it gets me very angry thinking about what a trully pathetic world were living in.

Ok so Marge describes a girl that is perfectly normal if not better than normal "healthy, tested intelligent,strong arms back etc", the classmates comment made this normal girl apologize for everyone seeing her fat nose and legs, as if it was hurting other peoples eyes when they looked. (One thing that bothers me about the classmate going through puberty mentioning how the girl has a big nose and fat legs... this idea that big nose and fat legs is considered "ugly" is a notion taken from the outside world, those people who labeled the fat legs and big nose as ugly and negative). "She was advised to play coy/excercise"etc as opposed to telling the girl to be strong and not let the people get to her but instead theyre teaching her to be open to other peoples opinions and accept what they tell you... which eventually leads to someone taking power over you and becoming more dominant (men)
Her good nature wore out (she lost herself in this pathetic world of labeling and conformity).. She cut off her legs and gave them up (did what society told her to do symbolic to death because it would be like dying if your sense of power came from within and it has been destroyed therefore the only thing you have is the physicality and you would not be accepted in society unless you conform. Marge basically symbolizes death and being a barbie doll in which everyone adores you, but in the end you are dead inside and end up being empty because everything that made you "YOU", your significance is stomped on, and in the end "shes in the casket,cosmetics painted on..Consummation at last" or more like Perfectly dead and in the end of the end she is that cute little girl just like any other barbie doll, "PRETTY in pink who played with stoves and lipstick" NO significance.