I Rise

Still I Rise You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I'll rise. Does my sassiness upset you? Why are you beset with gloom? 'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells Pumping in my living room. Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I'll rise. Did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes? Shoulders falling down like teardrops. Weakened by my soulful cries. Does my haughtiness offend you? Don't you take it awful hard 'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines Diggin' in my own back yard. You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness, But still, like air, I'll rise. Does my sexiness upset you? Does it come as a surprise That I dance like I've got diamonds At the meeting of my thighs? Out of the huts of history's shame I rise Up from a past that's rooted in pain I rise I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide, Welling and swelling I bear in the tide. Leaving behind nights of terror and fear I rise Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear I rise Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise I rise I rise. Maya Angelou As I read this poem, I am reminded of the feelings that arise within me when I think of the recognition of my own feminist mystique. I have been through much but remain strong and able to assert myself in my own brand of femininity. I do not have to be the woman the patriarchal system tells me to be. I do not have to wear makeup, be a size 4, or cook the perfect meatloaf. (This last is a good thing, as I don't eat meat.) It is not necessary for me to feel like less of a woman because I don't enjoy housework or feel obligated to make sure my boyfriend has a hot meal and a foot rub ready for him when he gets home from work. I am a woman of the third wave. I am a woman who is sure of herself. I am a woman who isn't afraid to assert herself or participate in some form of activism towards the advancement of human and women's rights. I have found new role models in women like Enloe and Arditti. I have a newfound respect and admiration for those women who have paved the way for activism before me such as Betty Friedan and Elizabeth Stanton. I am inspired to participate in local and international politics and to challenge those laws which do not advance the rights of women. I am a feminist.