1. 9 Things I Would Like to Tell Every Teenage Girl
As college students, we’re in the transition of our teenage years to young adulthood, but this poem by Melissa Newman-Evans, is one that all girls should hear. The poem describes the sad inevitability of harsh treatment that women will face as they walk through life. It does this all while sharing the message that it is simply something to be overcome and not succumb to. She encourages girls to be themselves and encourages them to be supportive of your fellow females because in the end, we’re all on the same team.
2. Bitches
I saw something while scrolling through Instagram a while ago stating that the word “bitch” is starting to lose effect in terms of insulting women. Instead it has become a word of endearment used among the female community. This is obviously debatable but Melissa Lozada-Oliva, the author and presenter of this poem, shows how she uses this word to describe in lieu of any others to show care for the women in her life. That the word “bitch” carries a certain love and affection in it that can’t be said with anything else.
3. Ode to the Selfie
This is one of my favorites! Growing up, feelings of insecurity always linger, but there are days when it feels like those feeling never existed; you just wake up one day feeling yourself – and that’s perfectly okay. This poem by duo SPEAK LIKE A GIRL (Megan Falley and Olivia Gatwood), shows that it’s okay to wake up one day feeling on top of the world. It’s even more okay to capture that moment in a selfie.
4. If I Should Have a Daughter
Sarah Kay is one of the more well known poets on this list. Her calming voice and wide range of expressions always add heart to her spoken word. This poem is the beginning of TED talk that she did. She talks about the lessons that she would teach her daughter, and these lessons she gives light to are lessons every woman should know so that maybe one day we can pass them on, too.
5. Shrinking Women
Lastly we have a poem by Lily Myers. This poem by far is the most personal as Myers expresses her personal experiences of womanhood as being raised by her mother. She describes the major gap in her family dynamic – that as the men in her family grew bigger in size and ego, the women of her family grew smaller trying to make space for them, which can be a reflection of the lives of many people today. But she explains that the feeling of being undeserving in any aspect is not right and one we do not have to stand for.