Compare and contrast Piercy’s The Secretary Chant” and “Barbie Doll.

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Compare and Contrast Marge Piercy's The Secretary Chant and Barbie Doll
Marge Piercy deals with political and social issues throughout her works. Some of the issues she confronts include sexuality, identity and privilege-gender, and power. The essay compares and contrasts how Piercy uses her poems, The Secretary Chant and Barbie Doll to advocate for gender issues, especially the role of women in society. Notably, both poems were written during a period when women were facing many injustices based on gender. The poems portray Piercy as a feminist because of the revolutionary themes within the works. It is clear that her poems dealt with issues related to women representation within the society. She was against the patriarchal culture rooted in the society during the time.
Feminist ideologies are clearly seen in the The Secretary Chant and Barbie Doll. In The Secretary Chant, the narrator explains how she is overworked, and is still expected to do more. This shows that women work under unfair work environment. They are usually overworked and underpaid, unlike men who hold similar positions. Through the message presented in poem, we can see that the narrator sees herself as someone who works everywhere. Although the secretary position is critical to the operation of other employees, she still feels suppressed because of the pressure imposed. Using metaphors, Piercy writes, "My head is a switched board where crossed lines crackle." The line describes how her mind is preoccupied with different things that organized in a bad way. Therefore, based on the claims made through The Secretary Chant, we can conclude that women are facing hardships in the workplace. Piercy was raising these issues as a protest against the patriarchal order, and to advocate for women’s rights.
In Barbie Doll, the author describes how young girls are entrapped by society's narrow definitions of feminine behavior and beauty. Piercy uses a Barbie Doll to symbolize the society's view of what a perfect female should look like. The unrealistic body type of the Barbie Doll with a tiny waist, thin thighs, and long legs is reflective of how society perceive women. This is evident from the first stanza where the girl grows naturally and nothing seems wrong with her. The first four lines affirm the cultural constructs towards women. "This girlchild was born as usual, and presented dolls that did pee-pee, and miniature GE stoves and irons, and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy" (Piercy). From these lines, the author uses metaphor and symbolism to illustrate the concept of feminism. "Dolls that did pee-pee" refers to motherhood, "miniature GE stoves and irons" refers to domestic roles of women, and "lipstick the color of cherry candy" refers to the standard beauty women must add to appear beautiful. This shows how women are degraded and their dignity disregarded as revealed in the poem. The author utilizes symbolism and metaphors to communicate the ills experienced by women in the society.
Based on the analysis, it can be clearly seen that Piercy's role in social-political activism is presented in the poems. Both poems express the hardships, discrimination, and degrading of women in the society. The Secretary Chant ill...