"Bicentennial Barbie" from Kinky

I really enjoy the poems in Kinky, I like how they personify Barbie, and go from play with Barbie, to Barbie as a person with true feelings and experiences to experiences in Denise Duhamel's life. "Bicentennial Barbie" is the best example of all of these, it begins by explaining how Barbie was placed in a time capsule due to her popularity and the fact that she is a cultural icon. The poem goes on to discuss how Barbie remembered being played with, and how Duhamel herself felt the pressures to be perfect in middle school when she won the superlative for best personality. "At least I know I'm better off than that one repressed bicentinnial Barbie who'll be stuck in that stuffy time capsule until the year 2076."I also like this poem because Duhamel shows that expression with consequences, even negative ones, is better than being forced to have your voice stiffled because of what others think of you.