I have grown up hearing many things about what it means to be a girl from family members, teachers, strangers, coworkers (all typically men). Everyone believed they have a voice in what a girl should do and how they should act. The following is a poem containing things I have heard from those in my life and what women close to me have also grown up hearing:
Growing up a girl
Sounds like excuses for why it is okay
because he is a boy
And boys will be boys
Growing up a girl
Sounds like being silenced
By men talking over you
And your opinion never matters as much as a males’
Growing up a girl
Sounds like being told what to wear
Or else you are asking for it
And that your shoulders are too distracting
Growing up a girl
Sounds like being catcalled from the age of 10
Being told that’s just what men do
And that we should be wary to walk alone
Growing up a girl
Sounds like you are not strong enough
That you cannot play sports
That you should go back to the kitchen
Growing up a girl
Sounds like you have to work 10 times harder
To be recognized
But then you are only good for a woman
Growing up a girl
Sounds like since you are a girl you are less than
That it’s an insult to throw like a girl
That acting feminine is a weakness
Growing up a girl
Sounds like everyone had something to say about your body
Men controlling what you can do to it
And voting on issues that they would never face
Growing up a girl
Sounds like being told you can’t
Can’t do that since you are a lady
Can’t be physical or that’s too masculine
Growing up a girl
Means becoming a woman
And a woman is strong
A woman is caring and loving through hatred
Women face challenges head-on
Women take all that is against them and turn them into their superpowers
Women are mothers, sisters, allies, soldiers, doctors
Women are whoever claims the label
And are proud to wear that label
Throughout my life, I find we are always told it is a negative thing to be a woman and that we have to act in certain ways to be “lady” like. Growing up and hearing all of this always made me feel lesser, yet now that I am a young adult and still growing I realize every challenge we have to face just makes us work that much more and be that much stronger.