someone

i’m not somebody’s sister, daughter or aunty

i am someone

because i am someone

those titles choose to belong to me

i don’t belong to string along to your little games and little preferences

because what you consider beautiful, peng, a hoe or badders ain’t got nothing to do with me

i was not born to play into your sexual desires and for me to just sit in your passenger seat for miles

and don’t you think for a minute i blend in my foundation, fill in my brows, apply my gloss and glue those lashes to please a male bypasser during my errands, during my time to enjoy myself

and don’t you think for a minute that i’m asking for it,

don’t you dare think i want it

i do want makeup

just not the make up of a man

and if I do want you i will act according to

i will clearly tell you

so when we say no, take it and firm it

don’t you continue call us ugly,

“tsk, you ain’t peng anyways”

my period doesn’t flow out of my vagina for you to be disgusted by it,

it does so because my uterus lining is breaking down

simple as that

if only you were that disgusted and concerned about rape

the same way you are concerned about the shape of our bum and breast and how it would fit into your hand as if god created it for you

this is real life for women who are suffering at the hands of another human being

because those who cover up and those who don’t are pitted against each other

those who have an hourglass body are glorified and those who don’t are criticised

those who have fair skin are admired and those who have darker are denied

and those who speak their mind and stand up for what’s right are seen as the attention seeking kind

sisters and wives, female relatives are meant to be cleaning, cooking and playing with dolls

whilst brothers, husbands and male relatives put their feet up and rest their balls

then we have the idea that men aren’t supposed to cry,

always meant to act like the big guy

where men who suffer with mental health hide in silence

hiding behind an image of a lion

when actually they’re lying in suffer,

society telling them to get tougher

and i’m sorry to these men

i’m sorry to these women

and i’m sorry to tell you that if you believe there should be an equality of the sexes politically, socially and economically,

you are a feminist

who believes in feminism

- sab