The poet speaks heavily on gender roles in “Barbie Doll'' from the very first line. “The girlchild was born as usual” (Line 1), Piercy writes, telling the reader that from birth, the child has been assigned the role of being a girl—the child is not only a child but is a girl. This discussion of the inescapability of gender roles expands further on in the poem, when the girlchild is “presented dolls that did pee-pee” (Line 2) and “miniature GE stoves and irons” (Line 3). The poet uses these objects as symbols of gender roles and societal expectations for girls and women, saying that these are the tools used, inadvertently or not, to teach girls what is expected of them because of their gender.

Along with the expectations for behavior and roles in life—mother, housekeeper, caretaker—come the expectations for appearance. The girlchild is presented “wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy” (Line 4), and as she enters “the magic of puberty” (Line 5), she is told she has “a great big nose and fat legs” (Line 6). These are things she is taught: She’s to wear makeup, she’s to have a small nose, she’s to have thin legs. She is taught that her body is wrong the way it is, much in the same way many women are taught.