The Ugly Step-Sister by Charlotte Poitras

A large tree in the middle of green woodland. Large white text reads: The Ugly Step-Sister. Smaller text reads: Discussing disability in fairy tales and folklore.

no one wrote a tale
about the ugly step-sister

she used to be beautiful and fair
with her heart black and ugly
but they made her ill-favored
so it would be easier to see

she mocked the princess
                     like she had been laughed at
she took away her pretty dresses
                     so pleasing, she would be a little less
“those who earned food must earn it”
                     she learned how to fight by being hit

“comb our hair, brush our shoes, and make her buckles fast”[1]
maybe she needed help, maybe she had to ask

she danced for a man
                     that wouldn’t hold her hand
fought for a place
                     where they laughed at her face
cut her toes shorter
                     to fit in a shoe never tailored for her

“there they go, there they go!
There is blood on her shoe;
The shoe is too small,
Not the right bride at all!”

she cried as she couldn’t be loved, only fall

for she was unpretty
she did not deserve romance
nor pity
only shame

​and nowhere in the original tale
does anyone remember her name​

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[1] With quotes from the original tale

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About the author:
Charlotte Poitras is a queer neurodivergent artist-entrepreneur based in Montréal, with more than 100 publications internationally, spanning literature, theatre, visual arts, and audiovisual work. She handles mainstream culture like playdough to make it her own and defend social causes in both shocking and entertaining ways.