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Our culture is stripping girls of their individuality in order to shape women according to the past when beauty held more importance than individuality and independence. Piercy reaffirms that the girl from a young age is being raised exactly as society has wanted, focusing on details of her beauty before she can even comprehend them. .
As Barbie is the basis of comparison, if the girl child doesn't match its traits at her young age peers see her as imperfect. Minute flaws in her appearance will detract from how well she is viewed making her imperfect in society's eye, "Then in the magic of puberty, a classmate said: / You have a great big nose and fat legs." (6-7 pg. 814) Utilizing the literary technique of irony Piercy demonstrates to the reader a deeper understanding of the severity of the comments made. Puberty obviously isn't magical in this case, or else the comments the classmate made wouldn't have been so harsh. The irony in the childish remark makes the reader re-examine the passage, in search of what is meant by magical, thus Piercy's use of irony has effectively raised consciousness about the comment and society's narrow views on appearance when it comes to appreciating another girl's physical characteristics. The comments drive the girl child to further emulate the icon set before her, rather than rejecting it, and embracing her own identity. .
The poet shows how the remark has altered the girl's self-perception, overlooking her personality traits, because these aren't criteria that peers judge her by. While listing the child's attributes, Piercy draws attention to her self-perceived flaws, emphasizing a situation in which a girl would exchange individuality for acceptance. If it weren't for society's close-minded views on what characteristics are important for a girl to have, she wouldn't overlook the abundance of great qualities she possesses, "She went to and fro apologizing.