Female

I am female
I do not need protection
I am not weak
I am not afraid to speak my mind

You expect me to be a fragile figure that cannot speak up for herself because she is too timid

You expect me to let you walk over me like a doormat
You expect me to fear

But I do not fit those expectations, because that is not me
I will fight for myself
I will carry my weight
I will let my anger flow out of my mouth like a stream of lava when you tell me I’m not good enough

On paper I am strong and self-supporting, but as soon as you learn I am female, that no longer matters
Your imagination has built me to be a china doll that will shatter with the wind of your spiteful words
I struggle every day to be seen as “good enough,” but instead preconceptions of being vain and fragile, trump all I have accomplished

No matter my talents, no matter my grade point average, no matter my job, I will never be equal in your eyes
I will not allow my future daughter to never know the feeling of equality
I will not allow the next generation to see equality as a privilege instead of a right
I am female
I do not need protection
I am not weak
I am not afraid to speak my mind