She has a fire that you can see when you look into her eyes,

flames swallow up her self-doubt.

She always runs toward the storm;

nothing scares her more than turning down a challenge,

nothing scares her more than taping down her wicked tongue.

Bullied and brutalized for my stutter and lisp, for years I did not speak.

One day, I untaped my own wicked tongue.

Letting words climb the rungs of my vocal chords, I began to tell my story.

And I watched their faces in awe as they said to me:

“You are not who we thought you’d be.”

I am the woman I am today

because my father never clipped my wings,

even in disagreement.

I hear his voice,

all pride and no shame, say—

“And, yes, that is my daughter.”

And so I soar.

I soar.

I soar.

Dear Girl,

I wish I could hold you and say

the world will protect you.

But I know it will not,

and in some way,

you, too, know it will not.

Maybe that’s why when people tell you,

“You’re too young to understand,”

you smirk with that twinkle in your eye.

Because the moment you were born,

you were sexualized, objectified,

power never recognized.

Dear Girl,

I know that if this world harms you,

attempts to break you,

you will rise

broken and bruised.

The world is no match

for that flame in your eyes.

This is for all the women who have lived according to the male gaze,

who have been slut-shamed,

who have been trained to fear the dark alleyways,

who have been taught that “No” is not a complete sentence,

that it’s in the “male DNA”,

that accountability is just getting carried away,

that boys will be boys even when they know the difference.

This is for all the women:

do not shrink into that corner,

do not cover your body in shame,

do not silence your own voice

in a revolution that has only just begun.

Raise your daughters like you raise your sons;

the inequality did not begin with her birth,

the inequality begins when you choose to raise your daughter in a box labeled “ladylike”

and your son, in no box, with no label.

When told

your dress begets savagery,

I hope you respond,

“Then it fits me perfectly.”

You savage girl.

Giving girls and women the decision

to take control of their bodies

is equality.

Equality is having access to contraception

with no exception, no stigmatized perception;

a day when women are taught

that their sexuality need not be hidden,

boys are given condoms in high school

while girls are taught to live under a different set of rules—

rules that encourage purity and modesty,

a monopoly on a woman’s body.

I refuse to be ashamed

of the fact

that my body does bleed each month;

it is why we are all here,

and for that

I will not tuck

my tampons into my sleeve

as I scurry to the bathroom.

It really is no secret

that we bleed.

There is a world up ahead

where people are not targeted

for beliefs or bodies

where peace isn’t fantasy,

it’s reality.

Build the world you hope your children will see.

There is no such thing as weak women,

only women

who have not stepped into

their power.

Step into it.

The world is waiting.

You were not born to please,

you were brought here to

disrupt, awaken, and speak truth,

to ease the pain scattered around

and so when you are told to quiet down,

I hope you grow louder.

You are an entire symphony

that needs no applause.

When you are knocked down,

remember

it’s not what made you fall,

it’s what makes you

get back up.

No good revolution came from

safety and security;

revolution begins when you leap into the unknown

and shout from the rooftops:

I am here. Alone or surrounded by thousands. I am here. And I am not going anywhere.

The Truth about Being a Girl

People always say that the girls of this generation are so vain:

“Why can’t they put their brains toward books instead of good looks?”

I used to blame girls too: “Be more than a perfect body and a pretty hairdo.”

But then I stepped into the world

and opened my eyes to the truth about being a girl.

I heard guys say things like, “Dude, she was tighter than that girl you hit and quit.”

or

“I wanna pipe your sister someday.”

or

“Her ass looks like a racetrack with those stretch marks, but at least it’s big like Kim K’s.”

I never grew up thinking of those things.

Don’t blame me, but when I thought about boys,

I thought about dinner dates and soul mates,

not fuckbois that look at you like shark bait.

It breaks my heart for every girl growing up in this world.

Instead of “How was your day?” messages,

we get, “You up? Wanna come fuck?”

I am not an object.

I have a voice and something to say.

Do not assume that I belong in your bedroom.

I belong in a conference room.

And for anyone who thinks that this generation is so vain,

it’s because we girls are held under a microscope day after day.

***

It’s like

“beautiful” doesn’t even exist

unless you can cross everything off the checklist:

big butt

big boobs

skinny waist

Includes:

small nose

plump lips

bony hips

Hairless,

careless,

but still has an awareness.

In all fairness,

I want to be seen as beautiful too.

I mean,

I don’t want to be demeaned.

I mean,

I am not the same girl I was at fifteen.

I mean,

I am stuck in between

being a girl and a woman.

Growing up in a world

that has taught me to look sexy,

get a degree,

maybe a little rhinoplasty,

but never,

never

disagree with misogyny.

A world that has taught me

that being a woman

means living in fear

that your basic health care

will disappear,

or

that your paycheck

might somehow be smaller

than a man

who does the same job,

or

that your boss will tell you to stop giving him

eyes

“If you want a raise, you gotta compromise.

Show me what lies above those thighs.”

Boy, please.

The moment you misidentified everything,

you forgot

that a hundred years ago

I could not vote.

Look at what happens

when you try to demote

the very bodies

that give birth to you.

Please.

We are used to it all

and we are appalled

but, you see,

we don’t know what it’s like to be free.

***

Equality

is not just about

calling someone out.

Equality is accountability.

It is my brother knowing

that I am equal to him.

So equality

is education

from classrooms

and courtrooms,

to conference rooms

and computer screens.

Equality is truth,

is strong voices.

It is breaking through the silence that exists,

because silence

can’t exist

if it’s not tolerated.

Equality is you

changing the future,

clearing the path

for every woman

and

every man.

It is raising the next generation to know

that not only

does their voice matter

but

it will be heard.

We have the power in our hands.

As we will not sit back

and nod

and smile

while certain people

reconcile

the rules

of being fertile.

Sorry, but it’s my body, baby.

I may be a young lady

but my father always taught me

to speak out

and fight

against injustice of every kind.

We will not stop

until we hold our rights

for women of every color

size

shape

sexual identity

and place

in this world.

And that is the truth about being a girl.

If you don’t set your spirit free now

then when

will you

find

your wild?