Super Woman

Everyone knows it's not possible

But still

It's expected

She should be perfect

Superhuman

Her hips should be full

Her chest should be ample

But her waist should be tiny

Were she real

You know she'd break in half

Just like a twig

She should always maintain

This perfect, unrealistic figure

Oh, but it's not only her image

That must be just so

She must have the mind of a scholar

The mouth of a saint

Ladies must be intelligent

But not too intelligent

Ladies must be well-spoken

But should never utter foul words

Of course, she must attain a degree

But only in a field of study

Befitting her gender

Don't want her stepping

On the toes of men

Along with procuring her degree

She must maintain her career

All while somehow

Miraculously

Being a housewife

A stay-at-home mother

A dishwasher

A personal chef

A sex kitten

A babymaker

She must care for the home

And the children

Of a lazy husband

Whose fragile masculinity

Might break

Were he to so much as lift a finger

In his own home

She must always be perfect

For her husband

She must always be in full makeup

With a smile on her face

And dinner waiting for him

After all, he worked so much harder

Than she ever could

She was only dealing with screaming children

And constant chaotic cleaning

And trying to pursue her own career

While he sat calmly in his office

Issuing commands to his underlings

Sending others to do all his work for him

But she must greet him enthusiastically

She must not bother him

With her problems

Does this all sound like something

From an old television series

We think we've come

Such a very long way

Since the 1950's

But we haven't

These are the pressures

And judgements

Women face

Today

She must be the modern woman

She must

Always

At all times

Choose both

Family

And career

If she doesn't

She's a failure as a woman

If she chooses only her career

She's a horrible, selfish mother

Who refuses to take care of her children

If she chooses only to care for children and home

She's a horrible, lazy wife

A gold digger who leeches from her husband

Therefore she must be both

She must

Somehow

Be in two places at once

She must do the impossible

Everyday

She must achieve feats

That no man could achieve

All while still appearing inferior to him

She must not only do the impossible

She must be impossible

An unrealistic fantasy

She must be Super Woman