Scratch the Surface

you don't have to pull out the Book for Men
to know how men degrade "the weaker sex"
or even assault women with the English language

hey, they can even try to make it sound nice
think it's a compliment to call us a honey
a fox, a pumpkin, their cougar, or even a hot chick

but if calling us food or animals is too degrading
I can be your babe, and I'm still your girl
I mean, calling us less than an adult can still degrade us

but I get furious when I'm wearing a tank top
you know, because it's hot outside
and a semi or a truck honks their horn

I mean, do they think honking their horn is a compliment?
or are they busy blowing their horn
to try to show off their big rig?

I thought the Book for Men covered all the bases,
even with sex in terms men understand:
banging, hammering, nailing, screwing, scoring

but I was in a car, and because it was warm
I was wearing a tank top (again,
the truck driver's sexual turn on)

so I got honked at by a semi driver
while sitting in a car, going down the highway
and that's when I heard of one more term for women

someone informed me that after their truck horn blares
the truck driver will radio ahead to other semis
and tell them the color, make and model

of a car with a good-looking
seat cover

wow, a seat cover. thanks.
now we're reduced to good-looking upholstery
something you keep around to sit on

but we can't stay pretty
after you've kept us down for years,
before you get something prettier to replace us

so as I sit in this car
covering myself up whenever we're near a truck
I think about the Book for Men

with jokes objectifying women
or reminding us of a bush, a slit, a crack,
a box, a hole, or a farm implement, like

a hoe

but I'm telling you, baby doll
as thorough as that handbook seems
it doesn't even scratch the surface