Shackled, silenced, stigmatised
Moulded, conditioned, accustomed, trained
Ideology or social arrangement
An oft-repeated script, a familiar refrain
Glorified, objectified, othered
Glass-cliffed, placed on a pedestal
Bossy-bitchy-pushy-domineering
Saint-martyr-maternal-malleable
Seen not heard
Chaste, modest, torchbearer of virtue
Upholder of honour
Or a commodity devalued
Irrelevant, invisible, on the shelf
Or in the first flush of youth
Stepping up? Speaking out?
Who’d believe the truth?
Taunts, jeers, ridicule, judgement
The shame, the blame
Gold-digger, power hungry
Greedy for fifteen minutes of fame
Perhaps, in time, they’d fade
Losses, lumps, bruises, pains
But for the infinity mirrors
Scars, bumps, aches, veins
Constructed and deconstructed
Fear, violence, threats, manipulation
Tools of control
Oppression, exploitation, subjugation
Double standards and social sanctions
For compliance with norms
Maintenance of hierarchies
In any shape or form
