“My Feminism Is Someone You Haven’t Met Before” – Feature At TPC #UndoingGender
The Poetry Club, Airplane Poetry Movement and The Hive came together to pull off an event on #UndoingGender. They had asked for submissions and this piece was one that they picked for a feature performance. I performed it last evening with Karthik Rao on the guitar. I’ll post a video shot from a better angle shortly.
My Feminism Is Someone You Haven’t Met Before
When I tell people“Don’t call me chick”,they say,“You’re not, like, one of those feminist types, are you?”No. I’m not.I’m not any kind of feminist that you’ve ever metAnd chick? That’s a yellow baby birdI’m not yellow
I’m the colour of Fair & Lovely ads
Before the girl gets the boy, the job, the life
My Feminism knows appearance mattersBut that’s because she looks fabulous in every colourMy Feminism is a flirt
She doesn’t have ‘angry tearful breasts’But a pair that go in opposite directionsSo she uses a bra to hold them togetherand calls them ‘Bait’My Feminism says, “Hello, boys”My Feminism loves menOf course, they are often useless
But that’s not their fault – they think with the wrong head
My Feminism has boyfriends and best friendsand a Best Man at her weddingShe changes her mindNo you stupid boy, it’s not always PMSI would die if bled every time I felt something
Yes, bleeding has something to do with periods
And no, women aren’t really scared of blood
We just pretend so we can laugh behind your backMy Feminism will not make you feel like a manßIf your body plumbing is my responsibilityI’m going to flush it down the drainBut my Feminism is not hardShe cries when rape happensShe aches in a world that values control over consentGender, sexuality, relationship status regardlessMy Feminism weeps the unshed tears of all the men she has knownShe bleeds when she sees broken childrenUnderage is a sin, whether it owns a penis or a vaginaMy Feminism loves childrenIt’s an affection that wears innocence and magicNot a maternity gownMy Feminism owns her body and her choicesMy Feminism won’t condemn you for sexualising women
This body was designed for sex
Good sex. Lots of sex.And when you’re done gaping over thatShe’ll explain the difference between ’sexual being’ and ’sex object’So don’t chick me, youShe wears red lipstick and combat bootsKanjeevaram sarees, backless cholisButterfly clips and leather jacketsShe’s siren, babydoll, bitch, child-woman, earth motherShe knows even labels come offEven ink washes offMy Feminism doesn’t believe in
Slut shaming
Fat shaming
Any kind of shaming
She’s shameless
Blameless
But not nameless
She believes with real responsibility, comes real power
So if you’re getting friendly with a lot of crotches,
Girl, you better learn where to hit if the shit hits the fan
And stop moping about your weight and calling it cute things like plus size
And “Real women have curves”
Get real
My Feminism gets a workout because
She knows adrenalin and endorphins make up for absent male attentionMy Feminism reads
Shakespeare, Sophie Kinsella, Terry Prachett, Milan Kundera
and Nancy Friday
She gets together with Hermione Granger and Katniss Everdeen
to laugh, laugh, laugh at Bella and her stupid vampire
Hell, my Feminism plays poker with Frankenstein
Like every other monster, he’s just a little boy who was created by a womanMy Feminism is a cat
Tigress
Pussycat
Alley cat
Cougar
Well, cats have nine lives
And guess how often my pretty, funny feminism lands on its feet?
Always. Miaow.I am an individual
And my Feminism is someone you haven’t met before.
Loved it!! Yay
Sent from my iPhone
>
So absolutely love it!