SILENT HEROS OF WOMANHOOD
For all of those women
Who have stood their ground
Said yes
Said no
Never bowed, kowtowed
Continued to feel worthy
Continued to show up
Despite to all intents and purposes
Existing beyond the black stump.
To all the women who gave their lives
So i could vote and have ‘equal rights
I salute you
To all the women who declared war on being ‘wife’
I salute you
To all the women who stood up and stated their truth, despite knowing the repercussions
(Asia Bibi, Malala Yousafzai, Tess Asplund and countless others) I salute you
To all the women who have survived rape, assault, abuse
I salute you
To all the women who have just survived
I salute you
To all the women who refuse to wear make up
I salute you
To all the women who wear as much as they fucking like, day or night
I salute you
To all of those women who refuse to engage in slut shaming or petty oneupmanship
I salute you
To all of those women who see the value of sisterhood
I salute you
To all my non white sisters who have stood up against racism whilst juggling/battling with what it is to be reduced already by virtue of their sex
I salute you
To all the working classed, disabled, gay and otherwise silently oppressed women who still find it within themselves to show up
I salute you
To all the single mothers, working mothers, stay at home mothers, just holding shit down day in, day out mothers
I salute you
To all the women who have decided they don’t have to fulfil their biological ‘purpose’ and breed
I salute you
To all the women who are fat, have body hair, short hair, pussy hair, don’t conform to patriarchal standards of fuckability and don’t care
I salute you
To all the women who refuse to see sex as their duty
To all the women who fuck, when they want to fuck, with whom they choose to fuck and then not fuck you
To all the women who have no choice but to put up and shut up
I salute you
I salute you
I salute you
(*crying as i write now*)
Cos i too have refused to kowtow
And i know the price we pay
For existing beyond the black stump.
