Almost anything I do is bad here,
not because it’s wrong
but because I’m am a woman
Almost everything I do is good,
But only if I am a man
I can fall in love
And leave when I tire of it
I can smoke while walking freely
under the rain,
I can have hundreds of friends of all types,
walk late at night, marry who I want
study anything I want.
I can do anything I wish
If I am a man.
If I am a woman,
I can also fall in love,
And be punished for it.
I can also smoke under the rain,
And be called bitch.
I can have many friends
And put up with the bad looks and sneers
I can walk at night
And ignore the strangers who touch me
I can choose my own husband
And be abandoned by my family
I can study what I want
And face loneliness.
If I am a woman
I can do anything I want
If I am strong and willing
to pay for it.
By Masooma
Massoma ur great , this essay was very impressive , keep going,
Hello Masooma,
I think there should be more gender equality in the world. Because it is sad that men still have more power in the world, I also feel that women should be treated equally.
This was a great poem. It spoke directly to the double standard. Men and women are still in 2015 not treated equally. I love then ending it ties everything together. I agree we as women can do whatever we want. But we have to deal with the ridiculement; and or backlash that comes directly with it. Overall good job. Ill look forward to reading more of your work.
I love this poem and I’m not just saying that to be saying it. This speaks to me because in the simplest of words it screams that there is a very apparent double standard between men and women even in this day in age. After all that has come to pass women still pay the price of being looked down on, cast out, judged mercilessly, disrespected to highest degree, and in some cases killed for choosing to make their own decisions and be an individual. You are right, ” If I am a woman I can do anything I want, If I am strong and willing to pay for it.” Which we do in one way or another. I face this challenge everyday but I’m ready to stand my ground because I’ve come too far to silence myself and follow the crowd. I applaud your writing and your voice.