The societal pressures faced by women are arguably the main subject of Alice Munro's short story "Boys and Girls", from the Mary Wollstonecraft’s essay “Introduction to A Vindication.” Women's Rights” and Marge Piercy’s poem “Barbie Doll”. “Boys and Girls” deals with the societal pressures that women face both in the home and in family life. Alternatively, "Introduction to a Vindication of Women's Rights" and "Barbie Doll" address the societal pressures faced by women in society at large. All three show how societal pressures work against women, but "Introduction to a Vindication of Women's Rights" and "Barbie Doll" go even further in showing the negative effects of these pressures. In Alice Munro's "Boys and Girls", societal pressures are primarily exerted by the older women in the girls' surroundings. Girls are pressured by their mothers and grandmothers to fulfill specific roles within the family and at home. The behavior of girls, and therefore women, is the basis of this pressure. The behavior of the main character in “Boys and Girls” is often dictated by the older women around him. Her grandmother is often heard saying things like: "Girls [don't] slam doors" (497) and "Girls keep their knees together when they sit" (497), which reflects the type of control that older women attempt to exercise. behavior of young women. In this society, a girl cannot ask questions because such things are "none of girls' business" (497). The main character's mother complains that "[it's] not at all like having a daughter in the family" (495), simply because the daughter prefers to spend her time helping her father with his work. rather than helping his mother do her work. the, in his opinion, "endless, dreary and strange...... middle of paper ...... bound. Obviously, Mary Wollstonecraft should consider the main character of “Barbie Doll” to be a near-perfect woman; she has all the characteristics that Wollstonecraft believes women should have. And yet she throws it all away for what – to be pretty? Piercy's "Barbie Doll" is Wollstonecraft's poetic expression of the 18th-century woman, revealing how little the pressures facing women have changed in nearly two hundred years. Works Cited Munro, Alice. “Boys and girls”. Introduction to literature 5th ed. Ed. Findlay et al. Toronto: Nelson, 2004. 491-502. Piercy, Marge. "Barbie doll." Introduction to literature 5th ed. Ed. Findlay et al. Toronto: Nelson, 2004. 316-317. Wollstonecraft, Mary. “An introduction to a demand for women’s rights.” Introduction to literature 5th ed. Ed. Findlay et al. Toronto: Nelson, 2004. 19-23.