Lobotomy at Claires

I am a woman,
but don’t call me a feminist.
In a flash I would trade
this measly existence
of HR complaints
and battling my
complicated gender identity
for a fluffy skirt
and a hole in the head.
Tell me what to do, honey—
it’ll be done with a
perma-smile.
Your steak was overcooked?
Go ahead, hit me.
Don’t worry,
my Cover Girl coverup
will hide the evidence.
Oh, I’m sorry sweetheart,
the hysteria’s acting up again.
Must pay a visit to the doctor
with the ever vibrating hands,
then I’ll be good as new.
No daughter of mine
will go around
demanding rights for her body—
your flesh is at the beck and call
of your father and
someday
husband.
Come on, honey,
let’s head over to Claires
and get you all fixed up—
I’ll even let you get
double pierced!

Katie Cossette (she/her) is a Montreal writer pursuing her BA in Honours English Literature. Her work has been featured in Toil and Trouble Lit, DarkWinter Lit, Dollar Store Magazine, and elsewhere. Katie is also the co-founder/co-editor of Crab Apple Literary and you can find her random thoughts about this and everything else on Instagram (nerd.i.am) and Twitter (cossette_katie).