This poem was originally used in an advanced class dealing with social issues. There are many ways one might use it, such as to build empathy for women’s voices, either alone in a course on gender or in a larger context of teaching about diversity. Because of its underlying Japanese theme with references to bonsai as well as its more general reference to how we are socialized into roles, it can be used with a wide range of classes. One suggested made by a reviewer (see the link below) is to include other poems on women. Alternatively, one can draw on other works of art, including songs. or, one can expand the focus by looking at the issues of race and class, and protest.
Some ideas might be found here. This list will be updated in time.
paul
Songs about Sexism and Gender Equality
when i was born a girl
i looked into my father’s eyes
and saw what i thought were tears of joy
but now i know
there was also a hint of disappointment in them too
still, i thought life was great
and at first i did not understand
why they gave me so much freedom
or why my brothers had to study hard,
their spirits tamed and moulded
into lonely bonsais of success
but it was soon i saw the hidden wires
that shaped my own destiny
dragging me along the road
from doll house dreams to name brand schools
where girls becoming women learn
the princess poses that they’ll need
to lure a seed to womb
in childhood i was free, unlike my brothers
but now, there i was in offices
pouring tea for men whose suits
were the leaves of the lonely bonsais
that my brothers too had become
like the dreams of our husbands
now chained to desks and whiskey nights
the dreams we had were not our own
and our real life dollhouses are now
so cold, so empty
–1997
This was originally published in the text Gender Issues Today edited by Jane Joritz-Nakagawa
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