it is female privilege,
you say,
when nobody crosses the road to avoid you simply because you have a vagina -
and to that, sir, I would like to say this:
(may I say this, sir?
may I open my mouth to do something other than giggle?
may I, sir?)
is it female privilege when a girl of eight years old
is engaged to a man she has not seen
and does not know?
is it female privilege when that girl has his child at twelve,
dies during birth,
and everyone says that this is just the way the world works -
is that female privilege, as well?
or is female privilege this:
when a girl is plastered all over the internet,
when you - sir - when you click on the link
and laugh, laugh, laugh
(I thought it was only us that giggled, sir?)
when she is told that she shouldn't have sent them -
silly girl, stupid girl, stupid girls -
that boys can't be trusted,
but girls should never even be given the chance?
is that female privilege?
answer me, sir - is that female privilege?
or maybe female privilege is the woman that has quit seven jobs
(and lost seven lawsuits)
because you, sir, stopped her in the corridor
not to shake hands
but to tell her that skirt is a little inappropriate -
you don't want people thinking you're a whore,
that the blazer is a little prude -
you don't want people thinking you're rigid,
that maybe she should come into your office
(it's a little dirty,
you don't want people thinking you're a pervert)
and you won't tell the others that she fucked her way to the top -
don't worry, she'll never earn as much as you.
maybe female privilege is even the girls whose faces will never be the same
(never pretty enough for you again, sir)
because they said yes too little,
or yes too much,
or spoke too much.
maybe it's the woman-girl-mother-daughter-who-cares-she-was-wearing-a-skirt
that went the wrong way,
moved the wrong way,
was touched the wrong way,
but dressed the wrong way
to evoke an ounce of fucking pity from you, sir.
maybe it's just the girls that see you
(you builder, you rapist, you ex-boyfriend,
you father of a son that hits his mother now,
just like you -
aren't you proud? -
you man)
maybe it's the girls that see you and turn back around
(they haven't forgotten their keys, man,
they've forgotten their pepper spray).
maybe it's the girls that know that
not all men,
but some men,
one man,
you, man,
think that just because they have a vagina,
this is all the female privilege that they deserve.
***
[A/N: why do i even try with poetry idk i should stick to my dumb books ft. lots of dick jokes
sTILL i hope you like this little something different?? i suck at poetry but i'm v. good at being super pissed off / injecting feminist messages into everything i ever say or do so
tell me what you think!]
