Teen Lab at the Art Institute of Chicago
Cynthia Cisneros, Helen Sanchez, Celeste Sanchez,
Inspired by Sue Williams' It's a New Age, 1992, two teens, Cynthia and Celeste, recited poetry/spoken word about the importance of women’s rights and celebrating the power, strength, and grace of women and their attributes. One teen, Helen, stood in the middle of them with her mouth taped, using her hands as “words” to emphasize some of the points that were being made throughout the spoken word.
A poem for the scumbags of America.
It scares me to think
That I can't walk down the street
Without carrying the fear of getting
Raped
Molested
Violated
Attacked
Attacked and stripped
Of all my clothes
My innocence
My hopes and dreams.
Because I held something as precious as my body.
MY.
I AM TELLING YOU
Value MY BODY THE WAY I DOOO
And I don't mean by saying things like
"You're looking cute today"
"Hey beautiful can I get your number "
"What is a gorgeous woman like you doing out here alone"
WHAT GOD GIVEN RIGHT DO YOU HAVE TO MAKE THAT STATEMENT
You use the excuse of being under the influence to take advantage of my innocent body
And you couldn't help yourself right?
Because I looked so vulnerable...
RIGHT?
Because I was asking for it...
RIGHT?
WRONG.
Because the fact that my body doesn't look like yours makes me weaker by default
Because you knew I wouldn't take a man like you to bed...
WITHOUT ANY CONSENT
Because your ego took a few shots when I politely said "No thank you"
When a woman says no
THAT should let you know
you will not be going ANY further than you already have
Because your masculinity isn’t something you should need to prove to yourself...
because women are just as strong as men
Let me remind you of your strength
The women who can bear a child
The women who can raise a family on their own
The women who take on the judgement of society day after day
We live in the 21st century and we as women are still fighting for equal rights?
Why don't we set some things straight.
ONE.
I am a woman.
Not an object pertaining of all things sexual and pornographic because that's what you're used to,
so when i “whip out my tit” to breastfeed my newborn child
you will have no right to say “i should put it away’
say
“it should be done in private”
say
“do it when you get home”
I can’t even breastfeed my child without a look of disgust
a woman’s breasts are not just for sexual arousal,
they are for maintaining the life of a completely dependent tiny human being.
IT’S MY NATURAL RIGHT TO FEED MY CRYING BABY
TWO.
The misogynistic ideals of “listening to your husband and agreeing on everything he says” as if i didn’t have my own opinion, as if i wouldn’t fight back if you tried to lay a hand on me.
I am no longer four and my mother can no longer tell me to respect older men
I am not vulnerable to you whispering about how Fn sexy I look tonight
I am no longer going to accept the compliment and say “thank you” because. honestly, I’m not grateful.
THREE.
I am too powerful
I am too demanding
I am too much of a woman to apologize for the way I walk
For the way I dress
For the way I carry myself
I am too much for you
FOUR.
I don't need someone like you to feel like a woman.
So going after me is pointless if you wanna feel like a man.
I am not sorry for having breasts
not sorry for how loud my voice is,
not sorry for how big my mouth is because I have a whole lot to say
i am not sorry because
FIVE.
I am the landlord of my body. And I decide who gets to live there. (All)