They talk of freedom,
but force restrictions on
whose voices can be heard,
whose books can be read,
whose love can be legal.
They ask how a person can know their gender identity,
but don’t think about when they knew who they were.
They talk of safety,
but want adults
to look at children’s genitals
to determine which soccer team
they should play on.
They ask what the definition of a woman is,
but don’t think about defining a man by his reproductive role.
They talk of protection,
but storm into bathrooms,
their phone recording,
to catch a stranger
shitting in a stall.
They ask where all the old trans people are,
but don’t think about where all the old sequoias are.
They talk of innocence,
but never teach their kids
what love looks like,
what abuse looks like,
what the difference is.
Tag: Feminism
Feminist Masculinity
After Feminism Is for Everybody, by bell hooks.
You are 32. On your way to work, you listen to an audiobook where bell hooks talks about how difficult it is to teach boys feminism, how feminist masculinity is often ignored for simplified narratives of blame and finger pointing rather than rebuilding society. You are 27. During an English department meeting, a colleague from another school remarks how good you are at being the only man in the room. You are 25. On your daily walk around your neighborhood, your dad calls. He tells you about his family, the latest news about your cousin, how nonsensical it is her best friend to be a man. You are 17. You work in the kitchen of a restaurant. You mostly interact with servers, most of whom are women. It is taken as a truism: women get better tips than men; you belong in the kitchen. You are 12. During your sixth-grade class’s sex ed. unit, your teacher talks about biological differences between boys and girls. She singles you out for being a boy with long eyelashes, a trait associated with girls. You are seven. Your mom is driving you home from daycare. You ask her about her day. She tells you about work you don’t understand, coworkers that frustrate her. You ask her if her coworkers are her friends. She tells you men and women just can’t be friends.
M. Espinosa 