We should not fear the walk to our car from the back door at work
We should not have to travel in pairs to feel safe
We should not have to be plagued by the title “female” as if it's a bad word.
We should not cringe at the thought of our nature
We should not shame what is uncontrollable
We should not return to the things that have hurt us due to “the traditonal happy family”
Yes we are mother
But that is not all we are.
We are daughter
Sister
Human
Beautiful
And loved.
We should not have to ignore our gender to explore difficult tasks
We are female
We should be safe.