Barbie Doll (poem)  Barbie Doll is a narrative poem written by American writer, novelist, and social activist Marge Piercy. It was published in 1971, during the time of second-wave feminism. It is often noted for its message of how a patriarchal society puts expectations and pressures on women, partly through gender role stereotyping. It tells a story about a girl who dies trying to meet the unrealistic expectations that society holds for her. It starts off talking about a little girl, and then continues chronologically through the girl’s life. Using strong diction, purposeful syntax, and various rhetorical devices, the poem hits on prominent feminist issues such as gender stereotypes, sexism, and the effect of a patriarchal society. Marge Piercy wrote this poem during an era of second wave feminism, a time in which women were concerned about sexuality, family, and the workplace. This ties in with Barbie Doll because the poem is expressing the stereotypes, sexism, and patriarchal influences that women were submitted to during the 1960s. Not only were women subjected to poor treatment because of their gender, women also experienced discrimination and unequal treatment because of their race. While this poem discusses the topic of gender and gender stereotypes, it is important to recognize that the development of the Barbie Doll has brought up the racial discrepancies woman faced during this time. According to Elizabeth Chin, “These toys were designed and marketed specifically to reshape a territory dominated by an assumption of whiteness, but paradoxically, they have integrated the toy world while at the same time fixing racial boundaries more firmly. Although not addressed in this poem, the racial discrepancies that arose after the creation of the Barbie Doll, such as "hair type, facial features, and skin color” have been addressed throughout the years. Therefore, the purpose of the poem was to display the struggle women faced because of these societal issues in hopes of changing them. The poem shows the idealist view that is created by the appearance of the Barbie Doll that causes people to question social norms and expectations that seem to exist in society. The title of the poem came from the Barbie doll. Barbie was a prominent cultural icon during this time period, expressing what the perfect American woman should be like. It instead represented unattainable body standards and a life filled with stereotyped gender roles. This representation led to women looking up to something that did not actually exist in reality, and as the story goes in the poem, the girl ended up dying trying to be what her Barbie represented. The first stanza begins with a girl being born; fitting perfectly into a mold provided by the society she was born into.