To Be A Woman in American Society by Josephine Napiore

April is Poetry Month, so every Sunday this month we will be featuring a poem about crime from Gerald So's 5-2 blog. This week's poem is called "To Be a Woman in American Society" and it was written by Josephine Napiore.

TO BE A WOMAN IN AMERICAN SOCIETY

She says words that fall from lips bitter

with experience. "Women," she says, "see violence

enacted on other women." "Women,"

she says, "are always aware of a constant threat."

My ears ring with memories of "sweetheart"

from a man on the bus. I just looked away.

If I had responded at all, would he have followed me

off at my stop? Of "smile" from the man

on the sidewalk who blocked my path until I did.

If I had got around him, would he have followed me,

yelling "smile"? I imagine him screaming, "Smile,

you bitch, and make ME happy!"

We are controlled—we can't go out at night

alone. We cannot go THERE at all—in that skirt.

When we are sent home from school to change clothes

because our yoga pants distract the boys from their

education, we are being told ours

doesn't matter.

We are fat-shamed, slut-shamed, frigid-shamed.

Accused of "Friend zoning," which blames us

for not wanting the one who wants us. For having

our own feelings, desires, preferences. We are bullied

—by other women—online, to our faces, behind our backs.

We are told that we asked for it when we dress sexy.

We are raped and/or murdered when we say, "No."

We have to fight for the rights to control our own bodies

—over and over. Even once we have them.

We are made to feel stupid, worthless, unfeminine,

"bossy" when we stand up for ourselves. We are "crazy"

when men don't want to deal with our anger, even

when they are the ones who treated us badly

and made us angry. We should just take it

and shut up.

I fear for my daughter in this world—her lips

are still sweet. They still smile on their own.

To be a woman is limiting—in movement,

in careers, in income, in even our own facial

expressions. To be a woman is frightening,

dangerous. There are too many words

to be used against us.

Here is the poem read by the author.