he used to tell her
life was a dance
all she needed was a partner
then the tune
to which she would dance
would begin
but she found her dancing shoes
would rub her ankles
leaving welts of blood
that made her slip
she found her limbs
too stiff
her flowing gowns
too financing
and although she really tried
she was never good at dancing

Artist Commentary:

I decided to create my artwork with a pink theme because pink symbolises women. I wanted to emphasize that women are strong. I used different shades of pink because there could be more contrast in my painting. I used the quote “Equality for everyone” because it is simple yet meaningful. Happy Island School Women’s Week!

	i.  seed, germinating
At five, they unfurled the cascading curls
fallen down to her thin shoulders, fastened
the ornate bow to her waist, strung bright pearls,
milky-white, to her dresses.

At seven, they thought 
her polymer clay:
ready to be moulded by hands
rough and calloused; the hands that belonged to 
he who gripped the rakes.

She was told to watch the dancing fingers of
her mother: threading yarn through 
needle-eye, sorting kitchen cabinets filled 
with rosemary, thyme, dill and 
paprika.

But at eleven, the laboratory was
her heaven. The clinking of bright glass
tubes, the stir of blue broths
the tongues of purple Bunsen
flames – they entranced
her, held
her captive. But her mother never
meddled with 
this kind 
of stuff.

When she turned twelve, she wished 
to stall womanhood.

	ii.  wilting
She: a fool.

Feet rooted on the raised podium
Flashes of blinding lights
Spirited whistles, hoots and hollers
It was a standing ovation

for 

   her?

She stood
with her high school diploma clutched in her
left hand, Science Excellence
Award in her right, and searched the masses
for the warmth, the pride that 
should be
splayed across their faces but

The only thing she saw 
was the white of her protruding knuckles
As a cyclone in her head 
swirled raged sputtered furiously 
And, like a broken record, those words 
were replayed again
and again;

Your hips have
bulged, chest
risen. 
Scorn sneers shrieks slaughter
Voices ringing deep and
raspy
You? Hands made
for scrubbing 
	floorboards
The kitchen is your 
	home, laboratory not
You are not

one of 
Us.

But in that moment, clutching her diploma and her
Science Award
the walls in her mind, made of 
unbendable glass,
shattered.

Turned eighteen, she
turned her back. 

	iii. revival
Nineteen and lost
and swaying and fraying
Desperately yearning for an anchor, like how a
closed canna flower would desperately yearn 
for water;

She: even without his presence,
diminished.

But she, grit building with a battle cry
reached for and sought, then grasped at and fought
      searched for; found comrades, risen-chested or not
	and proved that she, though voice high and light, though
	hips wide and hair longer, was 

Worthy.

Ledge; grasped 
anchor; in place

It was no longer ‘you’ and 
‘Us’
It was ‘we’.

	iv.  bloomed
Her fingers not only
	lather soap onto after-dinner plates	
	weave silk ribbons into her children’s plaits
	tend to the blossoms at the garden gates

Her fingers also
	clitter-clatter across computer keys
	grip HB pencils in scribble-spanned seas
	draw out her work in studying disease

Feet planted once again on the
raised
	podium. 
A cure for Alzheimer’s, audience 
amazed.
Yet mellowed, now thirty, she remained unfazed and undazed
while the air crackled
with a sea of vibrations

It was a standing ovation.

i wish you would stop objectifying me for a minute

just one f***ing minute

i wish i could go a single day without feeling like my body is all that matters that my body is all you want
for a while then maybe you don’t want it anymore and that my body and my body alone is me

i wish i could go a single day without feeling like my body is my value

i hope that one day you’ll realise i’m more than that

i have a face, you know

i have a personality, you know

i have emotions and thoughts and interests and worries and things i care about and things i don’t care about and

my body is none of your business

i wish you’d see me as more than my arms and legs and ass and tits
and no i will not call them peaches and grapefruits because
if you want my body
if you really want my body
You will not break me down and pick what you like and frown at what you don’t like i'm not a buffet
You will not add some dressing or maybe undressing no
i’m not a buffet
and i'm not here to entertain you
i’m not here so you can taste a few parts of me and slap a f***ing 3 star on me no

f*** you
i’m not a buffet

Artist Commentary:

Jacqueline Roque was one of the seven women whom Pablo Picasso had a relationship with during his life. Pablo Picasso is widely regarded as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. However, his misogynistic treatment of women is too often separated from his artwork. Even so, his artwork reflects his view of women through the evident objectification and portrayal of the women the artwork represents. This digital artwork aims to address the issue where famous male figures are forgiven for the harm they have inflicted on women, simply as they excel in another area. Taking inspiration from Betty Tompkins’ painting series, Women Words (2013–), my artwork Jacqueline Roque is a rework of Picasso’s Nude Woman with a Necklace (1968).

Sources Used for Research:

• Lee, S. (2017). The Picasso Problem: Why We Shouldn’t Separate the Art From the Artist’s Misogyny. Retrieved 7 March 2022, from https://www.artspace.com/magazine/interviews_features/art-politics/the_picasso_problem_why_we_shouldnt_separate_the_art_from_the_artists_misogyny-55120 #WomensDay2018 | 5 SEXIST CONTEMPORARY ARTWORKS APPRECIATED BY MANY. (2018).
• Retrieved 7 March 2022, from https://zoomoncontemporaryart.com/2018/03/10/womensday2018-5-sexist-contemporary-artworks-appreciated-by-many/ Nude Woman with Necklace 1968. (2013).
• Retrieved 7 March 2022, from https://likeandmention.wordpress.com/2013/10/25/nude-woman-with-necklace-1968/ Pablo Picasso – Wikipedia. (2022). Retrieved 7 March 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablo_Picasso

I'm tired of people getting in my head,
I'm trying to be myself and I’m not going down,
I don’t care what they say,

I will go my own way,

THIS IS WHO I AM,

I can’t change anything about me,
THIS IS WHO I AM,
NOTHING WILL KNOCK ME DOWN!

I will not surrender,
People look at me and talk behind my back,
They think they will cast me out,
WELL, I BELIEVE MYSELF,
No matter what they say, I will get on my own way!

THIS IS WHO I AM
I can’t change anything about me,
THIS IS WHO I AM,
NOTHING WILL KNOCK ME DOWN!

I don’t care what they say,
I will not fall,
Because of their hurtful words,
NOTHING WILL KNOCK ME DOWN!

I will not let them get in my head,
I will stand,
I will fight,
FOR WHO I AM…

THIS IS WHO I AM,
I can’t change anything about me,
THIS IS WHO I AM,
NOTHING WILL KNOCK ME DOWN!

Her presence has transcended her appearance
Her eyes are the embodiment
of strength
The complexity and unpredictability of her movements
Make her all the more powerful
For she does not abide by anyone’s 
rules
She is the master of herself
Her roar
Is enough to make the whole forest bow down to her
She is no one's “pet”
She is a 
Wild Animal

Extremely key in our generations to come
Qualifications are
Utterly vital
A new era
Long awaited
Important
Try to enforce
Your choice

Remember this
Importance
Greatness in girls
Has to be prioritised
Try to understand
Spread the word

Sing along!

[Verse 1]
Why are we treated in a different way       
When we’re all the same 
It's always the same excuse every day 
No one understands 

[Bridge]
They say it's wrong, but nothing's changed
So don't be afraid to speak up 
Let’s make the world a better place 

[Chorus]
Let’s be who we wanna be 
Let’s do what we wanna do 
It’s all up to us     
Not anybody else
Show them what we really got 
Show them how we really are 
It’s all up to us 
Not anybody else 
   
[Verse 2]
Why are we treated in a different way  
When we’re all the same 
It's always the same excuse everyday 
No one understands      

[Bridge]
They say it's wrong, but nothing's changed 
So don't be afraid to speak up 

[Chorus]
Let’s be who we want to be
Let’s do what we want to do 
It’s all up to us 
Not anybody else 
Show them what we really got 
Show them how we really are 
It’s all up to us 
Not anybody else

[Outro]
Let’s be who we want to be 
Let’s do what we want to do 
It’s all up to us
Not anybody else  

When a man goes to a bar,
He’s met with friends asking,
“Did you watch the playoffs?”

When a woman goes to a bar,
She’s met with friends asking,
“How are the kids?”

When a man idly sits at a park,
With kids playing erratically,
He’s met with strangers saying,
“What a great dad, taking his kids to the park!”

When a woman sits idly at a park,
With kids playing erratically,
She’s met with strangers saying,
“What an inattentive and unheeding mother!”

When a man gets a haircut,
He’s met with the barber inquiring,
“I assume it's just a trim then?”

When a woman gets a haircut,
She’s met with the barber inquiring,
“Who did you ask to look after the kids?”

When a man is down in the dumps,
He’s met with strangers saying,
“His life must be really difficult right now!”

When a woman is down in the dumps,
She’s met with strangers saying,
“It must be that time of the month…”

When a man enters his home,
With a bag of fast food,
He’s met with passersby saying,
“What a great father!”

When a woman enters her home,
With a bag of fast food,
She’s met with passersby saying,
“What a lazy mother”

When a woman cries in front of others,
She’s met with others saying,
“Let it all out! Crying is good for you!”

When a man cries in front of others,
He’s met with others saying,
“Men don’t cry! Man up a little, would you?”

When a man harasses a woman,
And she finally opens up,
She might get lucky, 
And be embraced by those around her

When a woman harasses a man,
And he finally opens up,
He’s met with others saying,
“Stop being weak! At least she was into you!”

When a girl hits a guy,
She’s met with the public saying,
“Well done! You gave him what he deserved!”

When a guy hits a girl,
He’s met with the public saying,
“What a jerk! Can’t believe he has the gall!”

These beliefs ultimately help nobody.
They stand as an obstacle in achieving true equality.
We claim we have progressed tremendously as a society,
But in truth we cling to propriety.

Why is that,
When we break free, 
Disbelief is almost certainly a guarantee?
Some things are so differently applied,
Based on our gender,
Why is that?

Double Standards
They stand in our Painful Reality

Editor’s Note:

• The HERstories initiative aims to encourage those of all backgrounds, regardless of writing experience, to come forward with their experiences to have their voices be heard
• This topic is incredibly nuanced and complex, and it is therefore difficult to encompass the issue of double standards in its entirety in one poem
• It is important to note that studies have shown that sexism has much more severe implications for women than men, and to learn more about how sexism affects men and women, you can read the following resources:
  • Noah Berlatsky’s ‘When Men Experience Sexism‘, The Atlantic
  • ‘Sexism At Work ‘, European Institution for Gender Equality