Ten Physical Symptoms
Ten physical symptoms,
But Doc you wrote that my eye make-up was nice,
How thoughtful.
Ten physical symptoms,
But Doc you wrote that my clothes were neat and clean,
How flattering,
Ten physical symptoms,
But Doc you wrote that I was neither delusional nor psychotic,
Wonderful to have the free psychiatric exam,
Ten physical symptoms,
And you found time to write that my sense of humour was off key,
And that I mentioned my Granny growing up in the slums,
That we use humour during times of adversity,
But Doc no doubt you felt the need to pass on this cultural gem to your peers,
God how thoughtful you are,
And though you ignored that I'm so poorly I can only eat about five foods that are easy to digest,
And when I spoke of the seizures six months ago,
So strong I thought I'd die in that hospital,
You asked if there was a witness,
Dear Doctor I failed to ask,
If that witness should be male?
And you failed to notice that my records state my BMI as 24 when it is now close to 19.5,
And you failed to make any record of the ten physical symptoms I wrote for you,
Neither the slim pickings of foods I can digest,
You were kind enough to offer counselling,
To ask if "I felt my guts were rotting inside my body,"
Ah,
The poor woman just needs to talk,
I'm sure she has no intestinal damage,
Women,
God,
Women,
They just need to talk,
Head cases,
All of them,
Thanks male doctor,
Being a woman I of course did not notice the misogyny,
Neither how your difficulty with my culture was turned around and weaponised,
As if it were a character defect to have working class roots,
For the record Doc,
In case it is diagnostic,
It's not just poor Liverpool slum folk in my genes,
It's Cockney and dirt poor Irish too,
Is this all too passive aggressive?
Another woman defect,
Why don't we just say it straight,
Like a bullet pointed typed list of symptoms,
And a list of foods tolerated,
Wait,
Hang on,
I did that already,
Twelve point,
Times New Roman,
Ten physical symptoms
To the misogynists who would remove women's rights:
"The concept of dominance and submissivity in human relations is reductive to both parties and introduces a rigidity that harms both; the elevated and evolved concept is the nuanced forms of chivalry in human relations that can be associated or dissociated with gender."
It is interesting to me as a biologist and a linguist that the female reproductive part of a flower that receives the male pollen is called the "stigma" and in society for so many generations a woman who has sex with a man outside of marriage has carried a social "stigma." This is linked to old fashioned notions that a woman must be a virgin or pious and is linked to greater certainty of paternity for males. Again, we are back the kind of basic biology that is at the root of much misogyny and patriarchy. We will always need chivalry because women who are pregnant or mothers have specific needs and because males have greater physical strength from babyhood onwards. Women have sexual needs as much as men do. Perhaps it is time society at least admitted that so we can move on to a more grown up attitude toward female sexuality.
"Elitism is part of the emotional indifference package deal of toxic culture, long with misogyny, racism and patriachy. Elitism, a warped form of Darwinism, justifies the abuse and suffering of the global poor. Their hours of work are considered barely worth the food they need for good health, let alone the housing, education, health care, energy consumption and clothing. Then as these global poor look around for a place to survive, as they migrate we hear the voices of those in more comfort rise, "Here they come to sponge off us! Here they come to ruin our community!" The map of who suffers and who benefits was baked into the financial system, into the value of curriencies before any of us were born. But those who have advantage must realise, it is not by genetic superiority, yet by accident of birth. When elitism is removed, when reality is seen, when the heart grows, we see that when goods move ever into confined areas with boarder checks, people follow. So you want to cut migration? Address the elephant in the room instead of letting souls perish in boats and languish in prison conditions. Unpick the legacy of colonialsim to its financial roots that persist today," said professor Bruce, before bunching together his papers and exiting the courtyard.
Society will snap if you play "social snap;" other people aren't cards to collect into your deck.