"Macho Man"

"Barbie Doll" by Marge Piercy is a poem about how much pressure is on teenage girls to be societies standards of "perfect". The girl in this poem "was healthy and tested intelligent" (line 7) however "everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs" (line 11). Teenage boys are just as pressured as girls. Just like the girl in this poem, a young man may be intelligent but society values beauty more. In today's world a teenage boy looks up to men with muscular and lean bodies. They feel as though they need to keep up with the hairstyles that are "in" as well as the clothing styles. Teenage boys are under extra pressure when it comes to the topic of sex. They compare how many girls they have had sex with and feel like they need to excel more then the other boys. There's a sterotype that to be a "man" you need to have the perfect body and get a lot of women. The girl in the poem was "advised to play coy" (line 12). Young men get advice to be successful in sports. The girl was also told to "exercise, diet, smile, and weedle" (line 14). Boys are often told to hit the gym to build the "perfect" body and often are pressured to take enhancement drugs. The pressure on teenage boys is just as stressful as it is for teenage girls if not worse.