Poem by R Hunsicker
//
clothing plastered along the wall
splashes of pink and purple
all tight fit and small
but none bring a smile to my face
all too confining. erasing my feelings
my expressions, without a trace
Our restroom clearly marked with it’s plastic sign
right above the doorway, insisting I belong there and nowhere else
scarring Me when expressions don’t align
why does a toilet have the right to label Me
and not myself, in the eyes of society
why do We imprison people in this binary
Our health is taught to all with large breasts
telling of how We will grow to bleed and procreate
my ideas of bodily disdain and surgery never addressed
You force gender onto Me through biology
never batting an eye at the thought of our institutions
and justifying my pain and suppression through pathology
Your accessories glimmer in the mirror, bright as day
while tears stream down my face
these sparkling chains keeping my true self at bay
Your privilege allowing You to enter bathrooms
or sororities, or locker rooms
without the threat of slurs or violence making it Your tomb
if i don't identify with You, then where do i belong
for Your society invalidates me and culture ridicules me
everywhere i’m labeled as wrong
my body is a drifter
flowing freely between all that's known
making me learn how to dodge a punch, to be swifter
for i will never be what You wanted
and i will never be welcomed like You are
so we’ll BOTH continue to be haunted
by the one word displayed
in every capitalist and biological
space as a prisoner with no aid
for i look like a Woman
and am mistaken for one
but rarely feel like one
my queerness shunned
by society’s reassurance
of the body and gender
because that acceptance
is a Women’s
R (e/they) is an agender, asexual, arospec, neurodivergent scholar who finds passion in unconcealing and uplifting the experiences and voices of asexual and trans* people. E is a senior in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (who also concentrates in LGBTQ and PCON Studies) and is planning to pursue a graduate degree in Women, Gender, and Sexuality studies to become an LGBTQ+ studies scholar.
