This is a poem I wrote for my English class.
Warnings: mentions of rape/sexual harassment, homophobia, shaming
Words: 295
___________________________________________________
I am from “Keep your legs closed!”
I am from “Homosexuals are sinners!”
I am from “Your body is not yours!”
I am from “Oh that boy was just being nice.”
I am from “You’re ugly unless you wear makeup.”
I am from “You can’t go out in that dress!”
I am from “If you wear that, you’re asking for it.“
I am from “Oh you missed your period? You must be pregnant.”
I am from “You’re sad? We’re all sad. Just try and be happy.”
I am from “You’re a girl with short hair? You must be a lesbian.”
I am from “You’ve had sex? You’re such a slut.”
I am from “You haven’t had sex? You will never be good in bed.”
I am from “Oh, you’re white as fuck.”
I am from “Oh, you’re a woman.”
I am from a world where it’s never a man’s fault that a girl was raped.
I am from a world where I can’t be in love with the only person I want in my life.
I am from a world where God is more important than my medical needs.
I am from a world where it’s okay for boys to sexually harass girls, but as soon as a girl tries to defend herself, she’s the one that took it too far.
I am from a world where a product, or clothes define your beauty and worth.
I am from a world I wish I wasn’t.
I am from a world where, if I try to be myself, I get shamed, beaten, kicked out.
I am from a world where I wish people would see their worth in themselves, and not in products, or other things, or what other people think about them.
I am from a world that needs to take a step back and realize that guys are not always the victim, but sometimes girls aren’t either.
I am from a world that needs to respect people’s decisions with their bodies.
I am from a world that needs to realize that everyone is a person, no matter their sexuality, gender, what they do, who they are.
I am from a world where, if your period is a little out of wack once and a while, you’re automatically pregnant.
I am from a world where your mental health should be valued as high as your physical health, but a lot of times it’s not.
I am from a world where too many people take one look at someone, whether they’re a boy, girl, or neither, and assume that their look tells their whole life story.
I am from a world where your sex life dictates your future.
I am from a world that takes privilege and makes it about race.
I am from a world where I matter more than other people, only because of the color of my skin.
I am from a world where I matter less than other people, because I am woman, and I assumed to be weak, and useless, and pathetic.
I am from a world that makes so many mistakes.
And I am from a world I so desperately want to help change.
