New School Thinking

by Charlotte Cassidy

 

A nontraditional student, newly liberated

from bounds of childcare, tasks insinuated

by her status as a human female

checks her schedule in her email.

Her plans to grow by attending university

her hope to outweigh the stale simplicity

of housewife duties in which she was sinking

she signed up for Spanish and critical thinking.

Day one she arrived, a smile on her face

at the front of the classroom she took her place

ready to learn well all that’s presented

her shoes were spotless, her wrists were scented.

The professor arrived and began discussion

stating her hope, to incite combustion

of old ideas, to aspire anew

thoughts, opinions, rebellions too.

Let’s dive right in! Let’s all get swimmin’!

She assigned Gayle Rubin’s The Traffic in Women.

Our student, inspired, drove straight to her house

and quickly made dinner for children and spouse

at long last the children retired to bed

she donned her cheaters and dutifully read

of hegemony, division, all still alive

from second wave feminism in ‘75

Aghast, her eyes widened, down dropped her jaw

at concepts she’d never considered before

of latent oppression sequestered inside

a socially constructed gender divide!

She went to her bedroom, ensconced in a stupor

had society really been out to dupe her?

as she wondered, reclining husband arose

he eyed her carefully, took off her clothes

she held out her wrists, in two clicks they were cuffed

she slowly and gracefully held them aloft

to be tied to the ceiling in anticipation

of their weekly soirée into sub-domination.

She gazed at her spouse and then paused to think

how does Gayle’s theory dovetail with kink?

A voice rose in her head as she eagerly kissed him

do I like this because of the sex gender system?