What Are Big Girls Made Of By Marge Piercy

Seeing Beyond the Mirror

Both “Barbie Doll” and “What are Big Girls Made Of?” by Marge Piercy has incorporated many metaphors and similes to convey an overall theme. Both stories had an interpretation of what the ideal body image and beauty women and young girls should portray. It is really important to understand that beauty is molded by society — by advertising, fashion, and cosmetic industries. Women and young girls need to be comfortable with who they are and not be worried about what other people think of them, but society has impacted them negatively.

In the poem, “Barbie Doll,” Marge Piercy explains how women and young girls are easily persuaded and manipulated by society when it comes down to body image and self-esteem. Throughout the poem, a young girl has trouble

finding her own identity. The poem also implied how society has brainwashed them into becoming “childlike” and cutting off "great fat nose and fat legs" (Piercy) just to make everyone happy. The young girl struggles by trying to please everyone, which eventually ended her life. Meanwhile in the poem, “What are Big Girls Made Of?” also by Marge Piercy, she tells a story about a young woman named Cecile that continues to be rejected by society and her friends. Marge described her as being “manufactured like a sports sedan” and like a Mondrian painting” (Piercy). This conformity forced women into shapes they were not comfortable with and into things they did not enjoy like being “out of fashion, out of the game, disqualified, disdained, dismembered from the club of desire (Piercy). By this quote, it means there is no such thing as perfection and striving for it is pointless. A human body cannot be "fixed,” but we try our best to fix them by “silk and corseting” (Piercy) to get the perfect body. Additionally, throughout history women have felt forced to societal expectations, which are unattainable; causing mental and physical distress. Pain shouldn't be necessary to feel beautiful.
In both poems, Marge Piercy emphasises that first women and young girls are naturally beautiful, but then society throws mixed messages in their faces showing what is considered a “perfect woman.” The behavior and body image that young girls and women look up to has killed them while they were trying to keep up. “Barbie Doll” is similar to that. The metaphors and similes that Marge implies makes the story understandable and relatable. Throughout the poem, Piercy compares a barbie doll to a young girl through similes and metaphors. She first starts the beginning of the poem with "This girl child was born as usual and presented dolls,” which is a metaphor in considering the little girl is the leader of her own world, but her classmates bully her in saying she has a “great big nose, fat legs, and thick legs” (Piercy). “So she cut off her nose and her legs and offered them up” (Piercy). That quote meant she wanted to fit in and not be judged; so she wanted to please them and do anything for them to be accepted. Here, Piercy describes the emotional and mental pain that comes with puberty. Though this is an indication that when young girls begin to mature, they gave up anything to be well-liked and accepted by society and peers. They are then left with nothing and feeling lost in society; but society doesn’t care.
Another metaphor is in lines 22-23, “dressed in a pink and white nightie.

Doesn't she look pretty? everyone said” (Piercy). While the colors Pink and white are used for young girls, which indicates feminine and innocence; she was forced to mature faster in society so things suddenly changed for her as she got older. In stanza 4, “In the casket displayed on satin, she lay with the undertaker's cosmetics painted on,” (Piercy). This stanza means that even though she was lying on pretty "satin" and had makeup on, death played a huge role in her life. She couldn’t escape being someone she wasn't. Then in the last final stanza, “Consummation at last. To every woman a happy ending” (Piercy). This last quote indicated that the young girl finally ends her life from being overwhelmed with what society put her through, but society still thought everything was okay with making her look more “fake” in her casket. Her life depended on being the “perfect” figure and people only seeing the external of a woman. An example of a simile would be lines 15-16. “Her good nature wore out like a fan belt.” Marge is describing that the girl's nature and beauty are slowly deteriorating, just like a fan belt

(Piercy).
Meanwhile, in the poem “What are Big Girls Made Of?” the author also uses metaphors and similes to compare parts of women to society and how women conform to the pressures of what is considered the ideal woman. Piercy uses them to show the disrespect and social pressures young girls and women have to face day by day. The lines 5-7 of the poem begins with women being altered and unrecognizable, “She is manufactured like a sports sedan. She is retooled, refitted and redesigned every decade” (Piercy). This indicates that Cecile is manufactured like a car. She tried many times to fit into society, but she was never able to become perfect and beautiful to those around her. She's then rejected by society and friends, who only fit in because of their conformity to be attractive.
Another good example of a simile is, “How superior we are now: see the modern woman thin as a blade of scissors” (Piercy). The blade of scissors contributes to show that women wish to look like thin metal that looks unhealthy and unnatural. This shows the discontentment and disconnect with what is the standards of perfection towards body image. Overall Piercy uses her metaphors and similes in both poems to elaborate on the negative aspects of women when subjected to beauty. She uses frequent similes such as "The breasts are stuffed up and out offered like apples in a bowl"(Piercy) which shows that Cecile is maturing and that her body is objectified. She also uses many techniques to achieve the overall message that young girls and women should not be altered by society or their peers. She also urges us to "like each other raw” (Piercy) because we shouldn’t have to be punished or judged for our imperfections. They are beautiful when we are natural and confident in our own skin rather than being manufactured, cut, and bullied by society just because we are not “perfect human beings.”
Society has an extremely strong influence on young girls and women's body image, self-esteem, and beauty. They are set to be a certain way because of what advertising, fashion, and cosmetic industries are telling them. This causes young girls and women to constantly strive to reach this unattainable and unrealistic goal, starving themselves leading to bulimia and anorexia, and even suicide. It destroys not only their image but their world. It keeps falling apart until they give up and no one is willing to save them.
The standards that society puts on young girls and women today are set too high for them to achieve. Which can lead many young girls and women to develop low self-esteem. These poems not only teach the readers but people to recognize that these things are happening right now and we are not doing anything about it. Society needs to educate more people on this issue.
Marge Piercy exposes society's social pressures on young girls and women in both poems to show stereotypical pressure and social demands young girls and women have to go through. In the poems, “Barbie Doll” and “What are Big Girls Made Of?” Marge Piercy demonstrated an important message to not only young girls and women, but young boys and men. Trying too hard to fit into society will exhaust you and you will never be able to be yourself; while losing yourself in the process. You will never be able to experience life and will never understand what life really means.