The Patriarchy is Ruining My Teeth
The relentless pressure to smile
has become so expected
that the dentist found potholes in my teeth.
Small round dents in the lowers
caused by the points of the uppers,
but mainly caused by my constantly clenched jaw.
From the old man passing on the street
instructing my teenage self to smile!,
to the murmurs of ‘resting bitch face’
about any woman who lets her mouth fall
into anything short of a blissfully ignorant grin.
I live under a consistent fear of a slight drop in my chin,
making my face look too long, which I believe is the cause
for comparisons of women to horses.
And of course, there’s the dreaded double chin
that could rear its shameful head
if I don’t hold it all in the exact angle
that seems to be the only acceptable way to present my face.
The result is unnatural wear and tear on my molars.
I grimace and grind through the jokes, insults,
and insistence that “it’s not that bad.”
My lips are tired from the decades
of demonstrating my worth through my mouth,
which should stay closed
and always form a gentle upward curve.
I want to release it all. Roar, hiss, and scream
at anyone who might listen. Scream about how I wish
this bruxism were the only consequence of it all.
Lauren Oertel is a writer, editor, and community organizer based in Austin, Texas. She is a writing workshop facilitator certified in the Amherst Writers & Artists method. Her work has been published in Black Fox Literary, The Westchester Review, Gemini Magazine, The Sun Magazine, and more. She has been a winner and finalist in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction contests with The Letter Review, Writer’s Digest, Prime Number Magazine, and others. Lauren is the coauthor of the book Inside Out: A Texas Prisons Poetry Story, and her debut full-length poetry collection, Scars & Other Luxuries, is forthcoming with Finishing Line Press in November.
