Societies Exhibit

We admire a bird’s delicate feathers and songs. But typical to humans we want control over these creatures, putting them in cages, clipping their wings, and asking for a forced display, in attempts to bend nature to our will, domesticating it. This all too closely parallels societal constructs and the treatment of women. After the turn of puberty, a harsh snap into reality occurred, naive and uneducated on the topic I was introduced to the sexualization of girls and obeyed society’s standards. Looking back I see a trap so subtle it occurred unconsciously, and the cage of gender roles and femininity that trained me from the moment I was declared female. This cage remains here today, through hesitation created by society’s training and regretful memories. I want out but I am too held down, I want out but am ashamed to recognize what is suffocating me. So I find myself aware but still stuck in the same unbreakable exhibit.