Harkamal Dhillon

You must be the change you want to see in the world. –Mahtama Gandhi

Boys you must show your boys how to look at her as an equal

And not tell her you’ve been watching the news’s and to be careful.

You have to watch Scarlet Johansson give a speech about woman’s reproductive rights in history 315

And say something other than

She’s hot.

And makes the class laugh

but make girls like me feel

Silenced and objectified

All over again

The pride and empowerment I felt from that speech

Didn’t last.

Girls are funny too you know

but were told we are nice first

so we think and think before we speak

and we let men like that go on and speak

like its okay and were fine

even though your comments are demining.

I’m here day dreaming about how amazing it would of felt

for the men in History 318 

To look at the speech and be just as mortified  

As me.

And unlike you boy from History 318.

I am a feminist because these problems still exist

And I know if I turned to explain to you

why your comment was wrong

I would be laughed at by the boys in the back

for getting to strung up too emotional over          “nothing”.

I don’t want to hear “She must be on her period”

You see boy from History 318

Scarlet said she fears for her daughter and how she will grow

In a society she knows

Wants to keep her down,

she’s worried about boys like you

who ignore anything she has to say because its another hot girl talking.

So what if she wasn’t your perception of hot

Since you didn’t listen to the speech would you even look her way?

When shes talking about issues she has to deal with every single day?

Or is she just a girl on a rant?

I know you wouldn’t under stand, you cant

Until I explain feminism to you by using association

By telling you how it effect’s you mother, you sister, your girlfriend and one day your daughter

Isn’t that sad in it’s self?

Boys when you hear a girl spilling over in emotion reading a poem about how she feels like a piece of walking meat

I know you don’t get it , I know you’ve never felt it

But don’t say her voice is annoying

And the editing was bad

And leave it at that  

When the teacher asks

what your opinion is about the issue of sexism.

And please girls if you ever grow to be a human rights teacher

And the boys in your class

respond to feminism and sexism in this country just like that

like the boys I have seen did.

Please don’t laugh

Please don’t say its okay and move on to the next topic

Hold those boys accountable.

While they heard a lot of nothing

I was sitting there holding back a flood of tears

thinking back from when I was twelve

and all the years I have felt uncomfortable in my own skin and with my lip and my growing body

how many times iv almost been sexually assaulted before I even could wrap my head around what sex even was.

So please girls don’t make her feel unworthy by letting boys react like that.

Too many of my teachers have.

Girls don’t ever let a boy tell you your not like the other girls … be proud to be a girl just like every other girl on this earth because we are strong not just sweet and nice.

And boys and girls please be the amazing women and men you can be and preach equality, and never forget

You must be the change you want to see in the world.