Woman.

How does that word make you feel?

Image painted by Bre Prater.

Words have connotations - positive and negative. 

A feeling that hits your heart and mind before your neurons have time to fire 

You know a word’s connotation without a thought or revelation 

It supercharges our imagination 

And 

Reactions to connotations define generations  

Woman. 

What have you been told? 

When we were young, we watched and listened 

Learning from those before - the “old” and “wise.” 

Their lives, habits, the paths they walked 

Patterns they crossed 

And 

They often forgot we watched 

Woman. 

Why does it rhyme with submission? 

Growing up, we saw the patterns. 

And the stories we were told did not line up with the ones we watched

Empowerment, Individuality, Rights, Equality 

We were told, “You can do anything.” 

But,

They ridiculed the women who did 

Woman.  

Why is that a sour word?

Chills hit the spine, and a sense of dread falls to the pit of the stomach 

At the sound of a word that describes 49.55% of the world's population 

Half of the world cannot be “dirty” from birth 

The connotation is that of a lesser - a person inherently below a biologically superior 

Yet 

Without the woman, man would fail to exist to begin with 

Woman. 

Indeed, what we have been told is wrong. 

Because it has to be 

Half of the world cannot be lesser. 

Biology does not condemn me to be below my brothers 

I was not born inferior 

Stop 

Believing what you have been told. 

Woman. 

How can we fix this?

Connotations can change, and denotations are chosen 

Let us here, today, begin a revolution 

Stop squirming when you hear the word “woman.” 

Own the identification 

And 

Stand up straight and tall 

Because I am a Woman. 

And you cannot tell me that I am lesser. 

I was born to change the world 

I will not bow down; I will not be silenced 

I will stand here and shout the truth

We have to stop perpetuating this problem 

Do not 

Just listen to my poem. If you believe me, stand with me.