Harm Caused by Society's Beauty Standards
Piercy is predominantly concerned with how social expectations have become the standard by which women perceive themselves. Society tells women that they must adhere to certain outward, physical standards in order to be valuable. It's a toxic message, as the protagonist of "Barbie Doll" learns over a lifetime of pain. Desperately trying to be seen as acceptable, she becomes so frustrated with her off-standard features that she eventually cuts off her nose and her too-wide legs and dies. Another example is Cecile of "What are Big Girls Made of?" who fails to keep up with the rapidly changing beauty standards and soon becomes "disqualified" from the dating scene. In both cases these women buy into the lies which society tells about how women are considered valuable.
Artificial Beauty
Another aspect of Piercy's critical poetry is this idea of artificial beauty. She observes how women and girls are taught to construct themselves outwardly in order to conform to beauty standards. For instance, "What are Big Girls Made of?" reflects upon beauty standards throughout history. The French in the 18th century remained locked inside wire cages to expand their hips, corsets to shrink their waists, and maddeningly heavy wigs castled upon their heads. And the modern woman doesn't fare much better with her gym routines and cosmetic products. Though the type of artifice has changed over the years, the idea is still the same: fitting into a mold. "A Work of Artifice" brings this idea into the realm of the literal with the example of the bonsai tree in the wild vs. in suburbia. The tree, like women, is told that it naturally desires to remain small and weak, but this is once again an artificial standard.
Suffering for Self-Acceptance
The women of Piercy's poetry are all suffering from lack of acceptance. In fact they willingly accept painful alterations to their habits and bodies in order to achieve some sort of acceptance from the outside world. "A Work of Artifice" actually talks about how girls are taught so young that they must defy nature's course by making themselves smaller and more delicate than they would naturally grow. This mandate is in direct opposition to self-acceptance which would never demand a departure from one's nature. In the full course of time, this abnegation of the self results in tragedy like the girl in "Barbie Doll." Told by society that she is unacceptable, she desperately tries to alter herself to fit the pattern that is acceptable, but it costs her literal life. Rather than listen to these messages that restrict, confine, and negate the self, Piercy is arguing for the other side of the story: relentless, vulnerable self-acceptance, no matter who you are.
