Poem: I am a Woman

I am a woman: 
stuffed into a box limiting my capabilities. 
confined in it until I can muster the strength to break the top -- 
strength many people assume I don’t have.

I am a woman:
conditioned to believe there are things ‘I’m not allowed’ and ‘not supposed’ to do because of assumptions about my gender.

I am a woman:
undermined by words and phrases that I ‘shouldn’t be so emotional about.’ 
I should learn how to take a joke.

I am a woman:
There is a role I’m meant to fill from the moment I’m born: 
Wife, mother, listener. 
I’m given an outline with not many blanks to fill. 

I am a woman: 
As women, 1 in 3 of us will experience physical abuse in our lifetimes.

I am a woman: 
I live in a society where I should be afraid to walk alone at night, 
where I should clutch my pepper spray tight or change my attire. 
I don’t want to look like I’m asking for it. 

I am me. 
I have learned that it is not up to anyone else to decide what that means. 
I am not what a society lays out as a blueprint.
I am not a stereotype.
I am not a label.
I am a woman.