White women, I present to the world like you
I get all the advantages and some of the disadvantages that come with our gender and our skin tone
I grew up in the suburbs, protected from the world like many of you
I now live in a rural community like many more of you
Let's talk about the patriarchy, sure
Let's talk about #MeToo. Let's talk reproductive rights, ok. I’m here for it. Let's talk about domestic violence or addiction. We know these things. We all make mistakes, like all humans....But what I don't understand is why we keep missing the point.
Beginning to recognize our privilege but not giving up any of our power. Maybe not even seeing our power.
Reveal to me the ways in which I am complicit
Cast a glow on the moments where I am silencing others
Close my lips and open my ears when I can't even begin to know what it feels like to be you and yet I am still speaking because I have been socialized that my voice can and should be included in the conversation
Better yet, ring a bell when I need more information before I pass judgment
"Standing in solidarity" with the biggest air quotes of all time
Marching for diversity and inclusion but only if *white* women's rights are prioritized
We've been at fundraisers together, where I've seen you mistake a board chair for one of the servers.
I. Need. You. To. Do. Better.
Because I know that I need to do better, even though I got the cheat codes by being queer
There are some levels of this game where I can see how it feels to be "other" or denied rights because of who I love, but this does not allow me to say, "I totally know how you feel."
I get only a glimmer of that oppression, enough to squint my eyes at the horizon and investigate the light
My trans brothers and sisters and my people who do not let themselves be shackled by gender....I see you. I see you, but DAMN, I have a lot to learn. I'm not going to get it right, but I'm working on it. I want you to know I'm working on it.
Or perhaps you prefer T for truth
the kind that makes the hair at the back of your neck stand up
and tilt towards the source of what's real
My underrepresented communities, I see you
Help me be better...unless you've had to educate 5 white women today and then like, we're cool, I'll read a book. Because I will continue to take ownership of my own education.
I am not an ally
I aspire to be the person who shows up for those who've struggled harder than I have because it's just what we do for each other.