Don't get it twisted, I'm proudly feminine!


“Go on and talk, isn’t you are the man!”
Those were his words,
When I explained my principles.
Not that I owed him an explanation,
For the standards I allowed to define me,
But because I thought maybe,
If I gave a clear definition of who I am
And have him do the same,
Then maybe, we could see how
We could become more compatible,
But nah,
He didn’t see that,
Or even try to understand me.
He jumped to blame it on masculinity
My apparent choice to man the talk
That was the deal breaker,
A man intimidated by my opinion
Is a man insecure in his abilities.
And the best I could give him
Was space to discover himself!

Looking at things now,
I realize that society is blinkered,
And sadly too often,
Socializes men to that conviction,
That the opinion of a woman
Should be validated by a man
How much more patriarchal can it get?

The worst of its format
Is its scorn of women empowerment
As an attempt by women to be men!
Unknown to them, female is pride
And irreplaceable!!!
So when we preach women empowerment
We are about the realization and actualization
Of the potential and capacity of women
To contribute to the development of societies.
Building them up to compliment
Their male counterparts, because both
bring diverse skills and ideas to the table
And together, can sustain the universe

I think the mistake we make
Is to think that the coexistence of the sexes
Nullifies the concept of independence
Because by definition,
Coexistence speaks of peacefully living together
In the same place, at the same time
The key word there is ‘peacefully’
Which calls for the recognition
And acknowledgement of difference,
Understanding that only when each sex
Is empowerment to explore their full potential
Can each be a resourceful component of society.
A man that feels threatened
By the empowerment of women
Is a reflection of a broken and insecure society!
The best we can give it
Is space to recognize its fault!

To women like me,
That have been accused of manning talks
Sister keep doing what you do,
Be yourself and if that shifts someone’s comfort
The guilt is not your cross!
The moon doesn’t feel threatened by the sun
Because both know their beauty.
You owe society nothing
But a reciprocation of the respect
It affords you independent of your gender.
Find pride in being female
And don’t feel pressured to be less,
Lest you deny the world
A view of ‘phenomenal’

Shine on!!!
https://www.facebook.com/mantate.mlotshwa

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