growing a girl is difficult
growing up usually is,
but when you are a girl in a conservative home
the challenges are…unique.
you have a role to play…always
and if the home is somewhere in between?
The conservative space and the liberal dream?
You are stuck too.
Feminism is presented as the solution-
An independent woman who caters to none,
No woman, no man,
Just herself, hun.
Why would you want to do something nice for a man?
They’re oppressors and everything you do that lines with their values is a sign of giving in to oppression,
A truly liberated woman cannot want thus.
And so you forgo life skills, you forgo things you wish
To be the “liberated feminist.”
Because what’s the alternative?
A life where you are a doll, and have no identity?
Except you don’t see…
“Feminism” the way you see it,
Is just another trap-
You think you get a choice but you are still catering
To another roleplay
And it wasn’t until I said goodbye to both feminism and femininity
That I found me
The woman I was supposed to be all along,
For she was the woman I wanted to be.
I said goodbye to social rules of “liberation”
And built a life I wanted-
That had bits of tradition
Some that I could tolerate only,
Others in which I thrived,
It had shades of liberalism,
Painted by my wants and desires.
I said goodbye to feminism as it was taught to me…
And in that freedom, I found what feminism was meant to be-
Having the choice to be who I am,
Beyond anyone’s notions of what a woman should be.
Author’s Note: My birthday is around the corner…March 2nd. I am so excited! And it’s making me look back on my journey to womanhood. Have you had similar experiences? Let them rip in the comments! And if you wish to support my work, you know the drill.
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