men, it has always been about you
it can be about us, for a while
you've always defined what is offensive
let us do that, for a while
you've always gotten affirmation.
let it go, for a while
you've always centered individuals
let it be about the collective, for a while
is it uncomfortable for you?
welcome to our world, for a while
every moment of every day has been uncomfortable.
you can squirm for a while
our sense of ourselves has been invalidated
you can wonder about yourself for a while
our self-worth has been relentlessly chipped away
you can question whether you have a place anywhere for a while
we're on shaky ground in any group or institutional setting
you can worry about stagnation or job loss, for a while
we've lived our entire lives with this
you can live it, for a while
life has been unfair to us
you can feel wronged, for a while
people don’t believe you?
we’ve never been believed
you can feel invisible, for a while
we've lived with perpetual injustice
you can bear the weight of that, for a while
we have waited for centuries
you can wait for a while.
how long is “a while”?
you’ve always told us to wait. “it will get better.”
it’s been at least 25 centuries.
how much time have we earned?
this will take a while
this is, potentially, a huge social shift for the sake of women’s liberation. for it to actualize, men need to get out of the way. women need to voice their experiences and be emotionally raw.
angry, raging, seething, raw. its a stage that we must go through. there is no progress without it.
then, we need to visualize. without men’s input. we need the social space to find out what women see as liberation and what the process of justice for so many centuries of injustice might look like. how dare you expect immediate answers? we’re still seeped in trauma.
we need solidarity. every time men are discussing their own experience and what we should and shouldn't determine is punishable and what accountability looks like for men, they are stealing this moment. re-closing the floodgates that have opened for women's voices and sentiments and struggle for liberation.
stop asking women to compromise the fight for liberation based on party politics. stop asking for consideration of your personal situation and what we think of it. stop asking to consider some offensives less problematic than others? that’s creepy. stop worrying about yourselves and whether women will rise up and treat you like we've been treated. even if we did, that would be justice. but, we're probably not like that, don't you think? have a little goddamned patience. you all are the perpetrators. this is about us.