I know this is rather late. But a couple of months back, the PU3 students analysed Marge Piercy’s poem, “Barbie Doll”.
If you would like to read the poem, you can find it here:
http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/Marge-Piercy/7926

The poem touches on the unrealistic standards of beauty that women have to adhere to, as well as the sacrifices they make to appear beautiful to the superficial eyes of society.

As an in-class activity, the students were made to take on different roles and respond accordingly to the poem.

1. Blog entry of the female protagonist in the poem.

“I am seriously exhuasted from everything. I am so tired. Why is this torment never-ending? No matter what I do, it’s never enough. Why am I ugly? Am I fated to be ugly and disliked? I am so sick of being seen as fat, ugly, and just not attractive. I tried so hard, I tried to be gentle, coy and yet genuine to people. But I cannot do it, and after today I don’t need to anymore. It’s ok, because after today, I’m going to be free…”
– Melissa, Jia Hui, Shashi (08A1)

Song: The day I die is the best day of my life.
“It is not fair, life as it is, I will never be perfect. Why must I have such a big nose and such fat thighs?! But you know what, it’s time. The pain now is too much to bear. I need to get rid of it now. NOW. I must get rid of it. I need to please them. I need to please myself. Maybe without them, the pain will no longer remain. That stupid Dennis can’t make fun of me if I don’t have the big nose and fat legs. So here I go, off with the nose! Hmm… knife or scissors? You’ll find out soon enough…
– Petrina, Natalli, Mila, Sherman (08A2)

2. The horrible classmate who insulted the girl in the poem, causing her to feel insecure since her teenage years.

“OOOHMYGAWD. I LOVE her new look. That nose is so cute. I’ve been dreaming about getting my nose done. Man I can’t believe the drastic change in her.. I wish I had her legs and that nose?! But whatever, if she spent her whole life looking *ugly, then at least leave in style right? Know what I’m saying?”
– Syafiqah, Vanessa, Nisaa, Fahariah (08A2/B5)

Classmate A
Classmate B

A: Finally.
B: Finally what?
A: Finally she’s beautiful!
B: I know right, she used to be so damn ugly back then!
A: Exactly, she’s so much more attractive now. Especially her nose, do you think she got surgery or something?
B: Looks like it, that is definitely not her own, it’s just sooo… fake, you know!
A: Yea, better, and her legs too! She must have had some surgery done at least on those.
B: My god, two surgeries? She must’ve been real desperate.
A: Yea, nobody was her friend. Who could blame her; I would have done the same.
B: You know how everyone’s so pressured to look good these days.
A: Desperate times call for desperate measures. *shrugs*
B: Shame though…
A: Why’d you say so?
B: Well, when she’s finally beautiful she’s got nobody to be friends with. She’s, you know, dead.
A: Shame indeed. What’s her name again? I wasn’t close to her then.
B: What’s the point now anyways? I think it’s Abbey or something.
A: Finally, goodbye Abbey.

– Siva, Brian, Humaira, Rini (08A1)

3. Speech by the boyfriend of the dead girl in the poem

I met my girlfriend online.
She seemed so sad and lonely.
She was talking about ending her life.
But I managed to convince her not to.
When we dated, she seemed very charming.
She had a beautiful body, to me. *sobs* *wails*
I loved her so much! *wails louder, hyperventilating*
But she kept saying she wasn’t pretty enough.
She said people looked at her funny, and whispered behind her back.
She was a great cook and was filled with compassion.
She helped out at the SPCA.
But her dream job was to be an “SIA stewardess”.
But she’s dead now. *develops seizures*
(Police conducts CPR but to no avail)
– Jahafar, Jerrold, Vasellia, Andrea (08A1)

“Good morning, I am Jacob Cullen, ex-boyfriend of the deceased. It is unfortunate that she’s dead. I’ll always miss her determination and strong will to attain perfection. I’ll miss her soft spoken nature and how she constantly tried to please me, as she tried to please everyone. Now, I’ll have to find a substitute to put up with me. It’s a pity that she’s gone cos’ she looks like the Barbie Doll that you can buy off the shelf. I’m proud of her.”
“Oh Barbie, if only you could see your sexy pink and white nightie and how perfect your nose looks now.”
– Hemani, Eleen, Pearl, Nithiyaa (08A2)

4. A feminist who is outraged by news of the girl’s death

Dear Straits Times,
After reading about the plight of the young woman, I realised that society has put a lot of stress on women to behave, look, and present themselves in an idealistic way. Society drove this girl to her grave. The psychological trauma that society imposes on us womenis getting too out of hand. Some women are unable to cope, thus resulting in them questioning their holistic identity as a woman.  Women are expected to “play coy” and “come on hearty” just to be accepted by society. Some of the poor girl’s ‘friends’ even went to extremes by ostracising her just because she did not fit the ‘perfect’ Barbie Doll image. What does this say about our society nowadays? “Beauty lies in the beholder”. Who are they to judge when they are not perfect themselves?
Outraged Feminist
– Siti, Samantha, Caia, Melanie (08A1)

This is war! All you men out there, you want me to be coy, yet hearty? Eat this! Look at the repurcussions of your expectations on women. Stop moulding us, we are not Barbie Dolls; we are living things just like you. Here on, to every woman, a new beginning! We will not apologise for who we are, how we are and how we want to be. This is for my girls around the world, and for all the men who don’t respect our worth. Thinking that women should be seen, not heard. We’re going to stand our ground and not walk towards a grave underground.
– Farhana, Jaspreet, Nicole, Joy (08A2)

A few other groups also took on the role of a reporter to ‘interview’ men on what their ideal woman would look like. Groups taking on that role tended to role-play the scene instead of writing them. 🙂