"Barbie Doll"

This poem is obviously written to appeal to women. It describes very clearly the struggles that most young girls go through on their journey to become a woman. It would be a very different poem however, if it were written with young men in mind. "Barbie Doll" focuses on a girl struggle with how her physical appearance is. Many young men do not have issues with things like a "great big nose and fat legs" (6). For boys, it would be more about acheiving something having to do with athletics I think. Boys can feel so much pressure to excel at sports and be the best. They also may have some pressure to get girls and do tough "manly" things. I can imagine that boys would be very mean to other boys that don't live up to those standards. In high school, I remember that the boys who werent very good at getting girls would be teased endlessly. I think that if this poem was written about a boy, the diction should be just about the same. The formal style suits the seriousness of this poem well. I can see throwing a little informality in however, because thats how young men talk.