"The Selection" by Anna Johnson is a deeply insightful poem that eloquently describes society's unfair standards in terms of outward appearance. She compares being a target of unfair expectations to being a piece of meat, and writes that young women are treated as objects to look at rather than people with personalities. The author ends the poem by remarking that, despite women's best efforts, even "perfection" in terms of beauty may not be good enough for the marketplace of society.
        I really appreciate this poem because it explains unfair standards regarding appearance and emphasizes the issue of insecurity that results from it. I, too, have questioned my and even others' appearances because of expectations that have been drilled into me since I was young. I have had sleepless nights when I feel inadequate because I don't fit our culture's checklist of what indicates beauty. I love that Anna has been able to so remarkably summarize such feelings in just twelve lines. She writes, "I don't think anything could/make me more tender/than the cruelty of the market/...Every ounce of me is stripped." These lines describe the vulnerability and self-doubt that come with being expected to have certain traits, and alludes to the ways that people change themselves to try to conform to unreasonable standards. "The Selection"was well-written and thought-provoking, and honestly gave me hope that perhaps this future generation will be more aware of society's unfair emphasis on beauty.