Barbie is a toy that every young girl treasures. Barbie is tall, skinny, blonde, fair-skinned, beautiful, successful, and fun. She has all the right clothes, cars, and friends. Barbie is a fictional character that many young girls dream to be like. In Barbie-Q by Sandra Cisneros, Barbie symbolizes the cultural norm for the "perfect women" that even the narrator wants to be like, however the damaged Barbie she finds represents that she cannot be the perfect women because she is from intercity Chicago, she shops at a flea market, she is very poor, and she is Latina.
It is obvious from the way the young narrator describes Barbie that she dreams she could have all the possessions of Barbie. She wishes she had the wardrobe of her Barbie, or even the one belonging to her friend. She knows the name of every piece of clothing that Barbie is wearing right down to the shoes. She says, "Yours "Red Flair," sophisticated A-line coatdress with a Jackie Kennedy pillbox hat, white gloves, handbag, and heels included." This is a vast amount of detail for a young girl to comprehend. When she sees the "Career Gal" outfit at the flea market she can describe every piece and she knows it is made up of the "snappy black-and-white business suit, three-quarter-length sleeve jacket with kick-pleat skirt, red sleeveless shell, gloves, pumps and matching hat included." She sees all the outfits for Barbie at the flea market and imagines that she herself should have such exquisite ensembles to wear. The narrator plays with her Barbie constantly and often changes the outfit on her doll. She says, "From so much dressing and undressing, the black glitter wears off where her titties stick out." The narrator cherishes her Barbie and wishes that she could have the life of a Barbie doll. .
The narrator speaks about how she is from intercity Chicago. She speaks of her plans when she says, "Until next Sunday when we are walking through the flea market on Maxwell Street.
