The Strangled Voice
When did age become synonymous with wisdom?
When did the word feminist become an insult?
When did fighting for respect become inappropriate and unseemly?
I guess it all started with.
"Girls should be seen, not heard."
"A lady is soft and fragile."
"A lady does not speak in a loud voice."
"Girls are supposed to let boys protect them."
"Girls are supposed to be neat and tidy."
No. Screw that.
A girl is supposed to be a girl.
A woman is supposed to be a woman.
And that is whatever she wants it to be.
There is no other should.
There is no other supposed to.
There's just you.
There is no ladylike or unladylike.
There's good and bad choices.
But alas.
A girl is born. And society slaps the first label
And suddenly she's fair game for every carefully aimed barb, every disparaging remark.
Because unfortunately. You don't see us as individuals.
We're plagued by your expectations and opinions.
Because somehow you feel you're entitled to our body, our mind, our choices. And you have no qualms about showing it.
Some among us lose their selves along the way.
Because you break them. You shatter their spirit. Their identity. Till a broken shell is left in the place of a beautiful vibrant girl who once dreamt of so much more than what life gave her.
But others, well, we're fighters.
Oh we'll smile painfully and nod at your cristicisms of our body, we'll give a strained laugh as you joke about how we look like a matchstick because we're too thin, give a watery chuckle as you tell us to 'lose weight because you're of a marriageable age'
But we're not broken.
Not even close.
We're diamonds.
Forged under pressure.
And every veiled insult, every backhanded compliment you give fuels our fire to be more. To prove you wrong.
To show you.
We're not just a daughter.
We're not just a mother.
We're not just a sister.
We're the other half of society that you try to kept locked away.
But you won't.
Because no matter how many locks you put on us. We'll break them all.
And we'll make sure.
That one day.
You won't say.
"Respect her, she's someone's wife and daughter."
You'll say.
"Respect her because she's a person."
Because you'll finally see every person deserves your respect.
When did the word feminist become an insult?
When did fighting for respect become inappropriate and unseemly?
I guess it all started with.
"Girls should be seen, not heard."
"A lady is soft and fragile."
"A lady does not speak in a loud voice."
"Girls are supposed to let boys protect them."
"Girls are supposed to be neat and tidy."
No. Screw that.
A girl is supposed to be a girl.
A woman is supposed to be a woman.
And that is whatever she wants it to be.
There is no other should.
There is no other supposed to.
There's just you.
There is no ladylike or unladylike.
There's good and bad choices.
But alas.
A girl is born. And society slaps the first label
And suddenly she's fair game for every carefully aimed barb, every disparaging remark.
Because unfortunately. You don't see us as individuals.
We're plagued by your expectations and opinions.
Because somehow you feel you're entitled to our body, our mind, our choices. And you have no qualms about showing it.
Some among us lose their selves along the way.
Because you break them. You shatter their spirit. Their identity. Till a broken shell is left in the place of a beautiful vibrant girl who once dreamt of so much more than what life gave her.
But others, well, we're fighters.
Oh we'll smile painfully and nod at your cristicisms of our body, we'll give a strained laugh as you joke about how we look like a matchstick because we're too thin, give a watery chuckle as you tell us to 'lose weight because you're of a marriageable age'
But we're not broken.
Not even close.
We're diamonds.
Forged under pressure.
And every veiled insult, every backhanded compliment you give fuels our fire to be more. To prove you wrong.
To show you.
We're not just a daughter.
We're not just a mother.
We're not just a sister.
We're the other half of society that you try to kept locked away.
But you won't.
Because no matter how many locks you put on us. We'll break them all.
And we'll make sure.
That one day.
You won't say.
"Respect her, she's someone's wife and daughter."
You'll say.
"Respect her because she's a person."
Because you'll finally see every person deserves your respect.
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