Worth By Different Standards

by Coco

Worth Measured by Different Standards
 
The actress wore
her perky,
finely chiseled nose,
as an accessory—
in her profession
a necessity.
 
But, what if
we were who we are
without pretentions
without fear
of rejection by peers
clanging in our ears?
 
What if
we didn’t straighten teeth
didn’t enlarge breasts
didn’t paint nails
rather, weighed accomplishments
on altruistic scales?
 
What if we dared?
 
July 11, 2015
 
 
“All I ask of our brethren is, that they will take their feet from off our necks and permit us to stand upright on that ground which God destined us to occupy." Sarah Grimke's Letters on the Equality of the Sexes and the Condition of Woman (1838)