Good Women by Rosa

Good Women by Rosa

All our life, we’ve been raised to be “A good woman.”

Our bodies celebrate us on becoming women by providing us with body hair, but they expect us to shave it off.

They expect us to go through nine months of pregnancy, with two lactating breasts, and push a kid out of a tiny hole.

We can’t be too big, too small, too quiet, or too loud
Or else, they’ll tear us down.

They tell us to be intelligent enough to avoid being naive, but not intelligent enough to make them feel unhappy.

We're still trying to persuade people that no means no, fighting for our bodily autonomy, and having trouble reporting an assault
Because people would rather blame our clothes than the men who ripped them off.

We’re tired of being “Good women.”

We’re not looking for compliments for our cross-legged pose.
We’re not trying to sound like an entrancing rose.

We don’t want to force a chuckle when you touch our thighs
We don't want to be frightened when we walk at night.

“No”, we say. So that indicates you should be on your way.
Our eyes are opened, and we can see that everything’s not okay.

We are more than our body,
And our beauty.

We also belong in conference rooms
Because raising children isn’t for us to do.

We are more than just “A good woman”
And we also have our own choices too.

We are more than just “A good woman”
Can’t you see? We also have voices too.