Perception Deception

I want to change the way we see ourselves.

I want the walls between

 gender and race,

ethnicity and sexuality,

 to crumble.

I do not have a one word definition.
You cannot call me

 white, short, girl, or gay,

And encompass who I am.

I want us to see humans

Instead of stereotypes and pre-conformed norms

That fit no one.

I want my society to realize that gender is a state of mind,

That sexuality does not define personality,

That the outfit I choose to wear is not

My ascension to the societal expectations of my sex or race.

I want to witness the day

 when my friend Nick can walk confidently into the men’s bathroom

and feel like he belongs there.

He is more of a man than most I’ve met,

But because he was born in the wrong body

he is condemned.  

He is the person in the woman’s bathroom

whom everyone avoids eye contact with

or berates for being there.

He is rebuked for existing,

He is a bright stain on the brain of our society

that only sees in monochrome.

He is hated by strangers for trying to feel normal,

And estranged by friends who used to call him, her.

I want to change the way we see each other.

I want equality to cease being an ideality

And become reality.

I want us to open our eyes

and see.