Beauty Is Not Required

Beauty is not Required  

Cora Thornton-Silver

For me beauty is not required 

Because our society is wired 

To think that women’s bodies are a measure of their worth 

In reality, intelligence, humor and self-awareness are key 

For me beauty is not required 

Because our society is wired 

To believe beauty only exists in the pages of Victoria’s Secret catalogue 

For me beauty is not required 

Because our society is wired 

To inhale advertisements and post liminal images on Instagram 

Of innovative ways for housewives to bake 

Food that girls are not allowed to eat 

For me beauty is not required 

Because our society is wired 

To look at our waistlines 

And measure them daily 

For me beauty is not required 

Because our society is wired 

To hate ourselves 

And criticize the subtle marks that line a curvy woman’s thighs 

As long as I don’t prioritize beauty 

Make up doesn’t burn holes in my Margiela wallet 

And curling irons don’t create fire hazards in my bathroom

For me beauty is not required

Because our society is wired 

For consumption of a conformist culture 

Which slathers its lips in a red substance 

That was tested on animals before falling into its mirror cabinets 

Women carry the burden of beauty on their shoulders 

So that they bend over like hermits 

And have back surgeries to straighten their spines 

Because our society is wired 

To be straight, white and age 16-35 

For me beauty is not required 

Because our society is wired 

To want excess 

Crave it 

Dream of it 

And have children draw it in their kindergarten classroom.