Summary Of Barbie Q By Sandra Cisneros

Being a woman is already difficult enough for some of them. There are constant reminders everywhere of how they have to act and what they have to do. Sandra Cisneros’ short story collection Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories discusses the issues that most Chicana women go through in this country. Sandra Cisneros portrays the sense of otherness, fears, battles and worries Chicano women go through.
In the story “Barbie Q” the little girls play with barbies, and these barbies portray the oppression of one culture by the dominant culture. When they play with the dolls, one of the girls tells the other one, “Yours is the one with the mean eyes and ponytail” (Cisneros 14). With this observation, the little girl shows that she has had uncomfortable

interactions with white women. She is aware of what they look like, and notices that barbies are portrayed the same way that the barbies are. Calling the barbie “mean” shows that she identifies people who look like a barbie as people who are unpleasant, perhaps making her feel as an outsider in the bigger culture. As a young woman, this little girl already experiences what it is like to feel like “the other” around other people who are part of the dominant culture.
For so many years, women have experienced the stereotype of what a woman is supposed to look like. Often, white women are portrayed as skinny and perfect women, just as barbies are portrayed. However, in Cisneros’ story, these little girls show that they have overcome the value of image that society has on women. The little girls play with the barbies, and one tells the other, “This and a dress invented from an old sock when we cut holes here and here, the cuff rolled over for the glamorous, fancy tree, off-the-shoulder look” (Cisneros 15). This shows that the little girls can make something useful out of having nothing. Their parents might not have the money to buy them clothes for their barbies, so they just use socks to make their dresses. They conform with what their parents give them though they do not sound so pleased with it. However, it does sound as if they would rather have something than nothing at all. This is an interpretation that these little girls are not growing up having the next item trending some women work hard to have. They realize that because of their economic situation, it is impossible to buy items to look prettier as any other woman does, but they conform to what they have.
Society wants women to meet certain expectations, and if they do not meet them, they encourage them to cover up their flaws. The barbies clearly portray the expectation society thinks women should look like, and if they do not look that way, then they are offered products to hide these qualities. After the fire, they go to the warehouse to see if they can find some dolls. These dolls are burned and damaged, but the little girls try to make the best of the situation by inventing a way to hide their imperfections: “And if the prettiest doll, Barbie’s MOD’ern cousin Francie with real eyelashes, eyelash brush included, has left foot that’s melted a little—so? If you dress her in new “Prom Pinks” outfit, satin splendor with matching coat…--who’s to know?” (Cisneros 16). The little girls see that their barbies are burnt, and this makes them look ugly. However, they find a way to cover up these marks with other objects, just like the way this society tells women through media that they need to cover up their flaws in order to be beautiful.
Cisnero’s story “My Tocaya” further touches upon the theme of what women are supposed to be, specifically what it means to be a good and bad woman.

Partricia Benavidez, the girl who goes missing is hated by Patricia Chavez. Even when she goes missing, she feels no empathy for her and thinks that “she couldn’t even die right” (Cisneros 40). Patricia Benavidez is represented as a well-liked and smart young girl, and Chavez dislikes the attention she gets. When the reporters come to her school to interview people who know Benavides, Chavez proclaims, “Even the p.e. teacher who had to say nice things—she was full of energy, a good kid, sweet. Sweet as could be, considering she was a freak. Now why didn’t anyone ask me?” (Cisneros 36). She notices that everyone else sees how nice and smart the other Patrcia is, but Chavez condemns her for being the way she is. It is as if Chavez is some type of judge that represents society and their standards. The women who are nice, sweet, smart, and try hard to get what they want end up being judged the way Chavez judges

Benavidez.
Both of the main characters in this story portray a common stereotype of women: they always tear each other down. By playing with stereotypes, Cisneros examines the diverse cultures and opinions of people within their own races. Patricia Chavez shows what she thinks about the other Patricia, “But who could blame him? A girl who wore rhinestone earrings and glitter high heels to school was destined for trouble that nobody—not God or correctional institutions—could mend” (Cisneros 37). This is a certain portrayal of women in society. Instead of helping and empowering each other, women tend to criticize and slash each other based on the way they look and what they wear. The narrator in this story is a high school student, and she criticizes Patricia at such a young age. This is the control that society has put in woman’s lives, and they believe they have to uphold that. Instead of realizing that Benavidez is a smart young woman and does not have any intention of hurting her, Chavez goes on and judges her unfairly and brings her down.
In Sandra Cisnero’s story “Never Marry a Mexican”, the main character, Clemencia, represents what it is like to be a Chicana, out of place and not knowing where she belongs.

As young girls in the Mexican American culture, Chicana women are sometimes told to marry someone that lacks traditional values, as most Mexican men do. This story starts with the narrator stating, “Never Marry a Mexican, my ma said once and always” (Cisneros 68). This is the constant reminder that most Chicana women get by their parents. By never marrying a Mexican, however, they do not mean not to marry someone who has Mexican descent, and Clemencia seems to have misunderstood her mom’s advice, and this makes her feel out of place between the two cultures. Considering the traditional values of Mexican men, her mom wants her to marry someone more Americanized, someone who is more traditional and can give her more freedom. This advice led to Clemencia to take it into a different context. She rejects Latino men, and she sleeps with White men. This confusion makes her feel as if she does not belong in the Latino culture, and by sleeping with men of the American culture, she is just the other. She is not the wife; she is an

outsider.
Clemencia tries to hold on to her Latino, and at the same time, she shows hatred towards the American culture. When she describes her Latino neighborhood, Clemencia describes it in a way that shows how much she is proud of it. She thinks “it [was] all romantic. You know the place, the one Zarzamora on the top of the barber shop with the Casasola prints of the Mexican Revolution. Neon BIRRIA TEPATITLAN sign around the corner, two goats knocking their heads together, and all those Mexican bakeries…” ( Cisneros72). She goes on and describes the beauties of her neighborhood, but then her mood changes when she speaks about her father’s death and her mom’s detachment. Her mom’s words after her detachment then lead her to her affair with the married man, and this makes her show her resentment to the American culture, especially white women. One night, Clemencia calls her lover, Drew, and his wife picks