Come on Barbie, Let's go Party

 I don't often take notice of misogynistic methods of discussing women. I think giving attention to unimportant messages proves that their messages are worth hearing. When I was a little girl I never really wanted to look different or be "prettier", however you define that now. But, when I look back I'm disheartened by the comments my friends or I made to each other about our appearances. Young girls, for examples ages 5-10, are more keen to what people are saying about them then you think. And for me as a girl, I knew appearances mattered but I grew up with three brothers, making me less aware of how to appear in the typical "pretty" manner. 

When I was little I had many stereotypical girls toys. Barbie dolls, Polly Pockets, princess dress-up clothes, and plastic kitchen sets. I forced my brothers to play dolls with me (and I know they secretly loved it), but no one ever told me I should look like a Barbie doll. It wasn't until high school I realized everyone cares about what you look like and no one cares about you. In Marge Piercy's poem "Barbie Doll", she talks about the expectations for many girls. In lines 7-9, she says, "She was healthy, tested intelligent / possessed strong arms and back, / abundant sexual drive and Manuel dexterity." Piercy is to be describes aspect of a girl that are not important. It has never been important for a girl to be strong or intelligent. She is only there to be objectified and utilized for the male gaze, Laura Mulvey would argue. 

In Piercy's poem she goes on to talk about how the girl in her poem is willing to do anything to stop the comments. She is willing to cut off her "great big nose" and "fat legs". It wasn't until this girl was in a casket with ridiculous sounding makeup and a girly nightgown that people admitted she was "pretty". Piercy says in like 24-25 to end the poem, "Consummation at last. / To every woman a happy ending." Finally, after this girl was dead, did she receive the attention she so desperately wanted. Piercy says, "To every woman a happy ending, " but is it really happy? Is that the ending that women are naturally going to receive because of human nature? I sure hope not because I do not want to only be appreciated for how I look when I'm dead.