NAVRATRI DAY 9: FEMINISM

Feminism isn't about making women stronger,

Women are already strong,

It's about changing the way the world perceives that strength,

They'll tell you you're too loud,

That you need to wait your turn and ask the right people for permission, Do it anyway.

I am not free while any woman is unfree,

Even when her shackles are very different from my own,

I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is, I only know that people call me a feminist whenever,

I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat.

Wouldn’t it be nice if Black girls weren’t inundated with negative, sexist comments about Black women?

If they were told instead of the many important things that we’ve achieved?

Black women too often in the shadows of such accomplishments,

Actually powered the civil rights movement,

It took me quite a long time to develop a voice,

And now that I have it, I am not going to be silent.

I think transwomen, and transpeople in general,

Show everyone that you can define what it means to be a man or woman on your own terms,

A lot of what feminism is about is moving outside of roles and moving outside of expectations of who,

What you're supposed to be to live a more authentic life.

I want to build a community where women of all races can communicate,

Continue to support and take care of each other,

I want to give women a space to feel their own strength and tell their stories,

That is power,

You don't have to be pretty,

You don't owe prettiness to anyone, Not to your boyfriend/spouse/partner,

Not to your co-workers,

Especially not to random men on the street,

You don't owe it to your mother,

You don't owe it to your children,

You don't owe it to civilization in general,

Prettiness is not a rent you pay for occupying a space marked female.

I can promise you that women working together – linked, informed and educated – can bring peace and prosperity to this forsaken planet,

There is no limit to what we, as women can accomplish,

When a man gives his opinion, he's a man,

When a woman gives her opinion, she's a bitch.

Men often ask me, 'Why are your female characters so paranoid?'

It’s not paranoia,

It’s recognition of their situation,

Women need a seat at the table,

They need an invitation to be seated there,

And in some cases, where this is not available, they need to create their own table,

We need a global understanding,

We cannot implement change effectively without women's political participation,

I always wanted to be a femme fatale,

Even when I was a young man, I never really wanted to be a man,

I wanted to be a woman.