misogyny

you call out, "hey baby, slow down!"
"where are you goin' so fast?"
"hey girl, i wanna talk to you."
some of you males should be ashamed
of your gender.
to think you have the freedom to strip
us women of our dignity--fuck you.
you would never talk to your sister, your mother,
your daughter, your relatives that way!
men take for granted the privilege
that they are born with.
never will they have to experience
the fear of walking alone at night,
being catcalled--you should be so lucky.






the men closest to us,
the ones in our lives, the ones who
are supposed to be there to protect us,
and love us; they are the ones
who betray us.
one night, one boy had feelings of lust--
and who else to take it out on but me?
telling me i owed it to him,
i didn't understand what the hell i owed.
i, being the passive one, did not want to fight.
straddling me, i felt my shirt being peeled off,
over my head.
my pants being stripped off, the sound
of his belt unbuckling--i could only
squeeze my eyes shut and hope that
it would be over as soon as it had started.
i had been objectified to the lowest low,
his dirty, filthy hands on my breasts,
his warm breath taunting my ears--
oh, it made me feel so tainted, powerless, used.


to earn respect is to give it.
no woman should have to compromise
her self-worth to gain a man's respect.
sticks and stones may break my bones,
and words will always hurt.