Sometimes I Wish….

Sometimes I wish I wasn’t a feminist

Because feminists are few

And there is rarely comfort in numbers

If all the feminists you know are two

But then when someone speaks up

For a non-feminists rights

I realize that feminists are many

We just don’t want to be identified

By every Jill, Jane and Sally.

Sometimes I wish I wasn’t a feminist

Because right and wrong would be less complex.

I could sit through a movie

And not hear all the sexist, ageist, racist slurs

And go home and sleep-

And not feel like a part of me died inside the cinema hall.

I could be-like everyone else.

But then I realize that everyone else

Wishes that someone else

Had the courage to speak up

Or walk out

Of an ageist, sexist, racist movie

And make everyone present

Not leave a piece of their humanity behind.

Sometimes I wish I wasn’t a feminist

Because then I could fit in better.

I could wear shoes that deform my feet

But believe that I am finally beautiful.

I could show a little cleavage, and toss a little hair,

Bat a little eyelid, and pout a pretty pair,

And have society treat me

Like another  voiceless doll.

But then I realize that the uncomfortable shoes come off

And the acting stops

And the voiceless dolls are more than just that

And I know that I cannot be

A voiceless doll with deformed feet.

Sometimes I wish I wasn’t a feminist

Because, isn’t it enough to just be a woman?

Women are great, women are grand

Women get their own public holiday

And , and, and.

But maybe there is more than being just a woman?

Maybe there are many kinds of women

Can I pick-which woman I want to be?

Can I be the woman that thinks and asks?

Can I please be her?

Can I be the woman that shouts and swears

And knits and smokes?

Is there such a woman?

Can I be her?

Sometimes I wish I wasn’t a feminist

Because feminists are flawed.

But then I realize

That for all my flaws

I can fix a flat tyre

And change a lightbulb

And tell you a truth about myself

And my being

That no one else will ever tell you.

And I think that maybe,

Just maybe

Being a feminist

Is much better

Than not being one.