At 8 years old I told my dad proudly I was a feminist.

He laughed.

He told me feminists were sluts,

that it was an excuse to act like a man.

My step-mother asked if I was a lesbian.

At 14 years old I learned that I deserved rights.

My dad told me women belonged in the home,

that changing my name was a necessity for marriage,

and when a boy said he wanted me to be his-

my dad told me that was romance

I should be flattered

At my grandmothers funeral he told me I didn’t deserve rights.

I was stupid.

At 15 years old I told my mother I was doing a speech on feminism.

My mother, a single working mother of 3

said I’d look like a man hating dyke.

My sister, going into the field of science, told me it was best to keep quiet.

And all this time people still think we’re equal

At 12 years old my grandmother told me I looked like a slut,

like I was asking for it

And when a girl gets stabbed just for saying no

And then people say she should’ve just said yes

Yes to go out with a cold blooded killer.

it was her fault.

In a country where a kid faces like for pot brownies,

but rapists and murderers go free-

Don’t tell me to ignore it.

At 16 years old I am ready to shout it-

i am a feminist.

All women-women with penises, women in short skirts, women in pants-

i support them

I support the right to say no.

I support equality.