Contemporary culture is plagued by the objectification and disparagement of women. Even something as seemingly innocuous as "getting to first base" treats men as the actors and women's bodies as passive objects to be dominated by male power. Marge Piercy’s “Barbie Doll” and Jill McCorkle’s “Hominids” both deal with the ways in which attitudes toward physical appearance affect women’s self-esteem. Using both the poem and the short story as well as articles from the library databases that address the question of personal beauty and self-worth, write an essay that explores how the women in the works and women in general struggle with regard to cultural, particularly male, conceptions of female beauty.
Primary Sources
- McCorkle, Jill. "Hominids"
Creatures of Habit. Little, Brown, 2003. 77-90. Print. - Piercy, Marge - "Barbie Doll"
Secondary Sources
Fetto, John. "Image is Everything." American Demographics 25.2 (2003): 10-11. Academic Search Complete. Web. 21 Aug. 2013. <https://libdb.chattanoogastate.edu:3443/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=9178141&site=ehost-live&scope=site>
Katz, Anne. "SEXUALLY Speaking. Breast Cancer and Women's Sexuality: Acknowledging and Discussing the Consequences Of Treatment." American Journal Of Nursing 111.4 (2011): 63-67. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 21 Aug. 2013. <http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=6c19f7c9-70e4-4bd8-ae30-fc75f64a9348%40sessionmgr14&vid=1&hid=22&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3D%3D#db=f5h&AN=59939795>
Kriss, Regina, T. and Helena C. Kraemer. "Efficacy of Group Therapy for Problems with Postmastectomy Self-Perception, Body Image, and Sexuality." Journal of Sex Research 22.4 (1986): 438-451. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 21 Aug. 2013.<https://libdb.chattanoogastate.edu:3443/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=5692333&site=ehost-live>
Semansky, Chris. "Overview of 'Barbie Doll'." Poetry for Students. Ed. Ira Mark Milne. Vol. 9. Detroit: Gale Group, 2000. Literature Resource Center. Web. 22 Aug. 2013. <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CH1420031025&v=2.1&u=tel_a_cstcc&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w>
Tyler, Kinda, Stella Lopez, and Laura Flores. "The Media, Body Evaluation, and Perceptions of Physical Attractiveness among College-Aged Women and Men." Psi Chi Journal Of Undergraduate Research 14.1 (2009): 25-33. Academic Search Complete. Web. 21 Aug. 2013. <https://libdb.chattanoogastate.edu:3443/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=43248267&site=ehost-live&scope=site>
Wagley, Rachel L. "Beauty and the Beast." Harvard Salient (2009): 10. Academic Search Complete. Web. 21 Aug. 2013. <http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=468bf661-cf47-487e-bba9-d6327721b86c%40sessionmgr10&vid=1&hid=22&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=a9h&AN=36660565>
Wart, Alice Van. "Overview of 'Barbie Doll'." Poetry for Students. Ed. Ira Mark Milne. Vol. 9. Detroit: Gale Group, 2000. Literature Resource Center. Web. 22 Aug. 2013. <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CH1420031026&v=2.1&u=tel_a_cstcc&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w>
Requirements
- Length: Your essay must be a minimum of 800 words.
- Documentation Format: You must include an MLA formatted Works Cited page that includes correctly formatted internal citations for the primary and secondary sources.
- Sources: You are restricted to the the poem, story,and the secondary source material given. Do not use any other source material. Your essay is based on your own close reading and analysis.
- Format: The essay must be in MSWord format (.doc or .docx)
Students must use MLA style documentation. Internal citations should identify author and page number for print sources and author for electronic sources. Students must also include an MLA Works Cited page.Students should proofread carefully their final drafts for spelling, grammar, and punctuation as well as clarity, conciseness, and completeness. The final draft should be typed, double spaced, with one inch margins, in Times New Roman 12 pt. The essay should be a minimum of 800 words.
The essay will be evaluated based on how well students develop their arguments with significant support from the novel (thesis, topic sentences, supporting details from the novel); clarity, cohesion, and conciseness; correct use of MLA format; and grammar and spelling.For this essay, students may use a dictionary to help with words with which they are not familiar but should not refer to the dictionary definitions in the essay. Students must use MLA style documentation. Internal citations should identify the author and line number for the poems and author or authors for any articles or other resources. Students must also include an MLA Works Cited page.
Students should proofread carefully their final drafts for spelling, grammar, and punctuation as well as clarity, conciseness, and completeness. The final draft should be typed, double spaced, with one inch margins, in Times New Roman 12 pt. The essay should be a minimum of 900 words.The essay will be evaluated based on how well students develop their arguments with significant support from the poems (thesis, topic sentences, supporting details from the poems); clarity, cohesion, and conciseness; correct use of MLA format; and grammar and spelling.
