Recently I learned that glasses have gender

 

That the colors we see

 

the clothes we wear

 

the words we speak

 

the toys that children play with

 

They too have gender

 

See there is a reason that department stores separate their items

 

make sure that everything is clearly organized

 

distinguished

 

and labeled

 

and its not so that its easier to buy them

 

but because it makes it easier for us to buy into their mindset

 

they don't want us to be confused about which sphere we belong to

 

so they get into our minds and build sphere after sphere, they plan and they scheme while they're

 

turning their gears

 

all in an effort to make it clear that we must not combine them

 

We have become so blind to the people in front of our eyes that all we see are the lines and the lies that

 

lie between them we forget that we all lie under the same sun.

 

Instead of using this sun to illuminate and see we use it to create veils and shadows

 

until all we can see are the shapes and the hallows

 

that we define as male and female

 

Like hovering hosts

 

They serve characteristics on silver platters

 

“hand picked” for us and for them while they

 

encourage us to chatter

 

But our voices have chains and our chatter is conditioned to be heard only so long as we keep to ourselves

 

the questions we have about the subject matter

 

With turgid hands they serve men beer in large mugs and to us they allow tea in small cups while I sit

 

and grow mad as the Mad Hatter

 

See I have gone mad not from poison but from poisonous tongues that flicker and spatter the absurdity

 

that serves only to drive me madder because they smile and sit while

 

they sit there

 

and spit

 

that it doesn't matter

 

But my question is not a riddle it is not about a raven nor a writing desk

 

And I cannot just sit here as it burns in my middle because they continue to spit “this way is best”

 

The corset they've put around me only grows tighter and tighter so that comfortably I cannot rest

 

Now I cannot let it rest this question of mine that pounds in my heart burns in my throat and seizes my

 

tongue demanding to unfurl

 

When did it become an insult to do something “like a girl”?

 

When did this notion that men are better than women, that boys are better than girls become so widely

 

accepted that its plaguing the world?

 

Instead of addressing the issue at its core

 

where it takes root in the minds of the young, the old, the rich and the poor

 

we cover it up, mask it, push it to the back of our minds, the bottoms of our lists and pretend

 

its all lore

 

But this is not a myth, though its a story that we've written

 

With our words we've given birth to a separate world that comes both welcome and unbidden

 

a place where Alice must change her body to fit the needs of her surroundings again and again

 

a place where debasement has become the norm and rape has become a culture

 

where women are depicted as prey and men as vultures

 

Now this issue I'm presenting, are you starting to see?

 

Because not just people but time has convinced me

 

that the issue lies with us and not just with me, but rather a we

 

that we have come to believe that with issues like this hold no responsibility

 

and as long as we sit back and pretend, sit back with our mouths shut and pretend

 

that nothing is wrong, there’s no problem to fix

 

but there is a problem and the problem is this

 

we refer to men as dogs and women as chicks

 

and the self esteem of each girl we kick

 

kick

 

kick

 

while we tell her its better to be skinny and sick than to be healthy and thick

 

what we don't realize is that it is our minds that are sick and enslaved by a prejudice

 

that fosters only hate and injustice

 

But I will not be enslaved by this oppressive mentality

 

I will not become what society thinks I should be

 

I will not present myself with a curtsy or a twirl

 

But I will always be proud to do something like a girl