"Someday, I'm gonna be exactly like you. 'Til then I know just what I'll do. Barbie, beautiful Barbie, I'll make believe that I am you."

The central theme (question 7) of "Barbie Doll" was pretty clear. First of all, the dimensions of a Barbie, if she was life-sized, in case you hadn't heard, are as follows:

If Barbie were a real person, she would be 6' 0", weigh 100 lbs., and wear a size 4. Her measurements would be 39"/19"/33".

Thank you, Christian-mommies.com. Woahhh, that's what I get for deciding to link before I realize the web site title's odd.

Piercy's objective was to point out the ridiculous lengths to which pubescent (<--that's right, I said it) girls feel justified in going to meet society's expectations. The girl in that poem commits suicide, and sure, it's an overstatement, but the sentiment is there all the same. That kind of thing happens. That extreme is rare, which is definitely something for which to be thankful, but it shouldn't happen at all.

The last line is particularly poignant: "To every woman a happy ending." Actually, that's verbal irony for sure. She's finally met society's expectations, I suppose, but she's dead, and she most certainly didn't die happily.

Old advertisements are kind of creepy.