Poems on Gender
SUPPOSING
Supposing I thought of you as a man of courage
A man who knew his own mind
Who could look people in the eye and say
This is who I am
A man who could face danger for what he believes in
A man of commitment, down for the long haul
A man who could fight his own corner – and more
Someone you could count on to take your side
When you were facing injustice
Supposing I thought of you as a pioneer
We’re only just ankle deep into this new frontier
But you’ve already jumped in
And you’re swimming for the opposite shore
So much of human sexuality we don’t think, only feel
Then the feelings think for us
From the pill to the knife to genetic engineering
What’s going to be left of ‘normal’ in a hundred years?
The future is bright
And terrifying
You say that we can’t be friends
Unless I agree that you are a real woman
I can’t do that
But I can respect you, who you are
The choices you have made
I can rage at the bigotry you face
Gender is not an identity, it’s a straitjacket
And you are going up against it
How could I not respect that
How could I not fight alongside you
Just as I would any other comrade
We may be on different sides of a debate
But we are on the same side in the war
Supposing I thought of you as a woman of courage
A woman who knew her own mind
Who could look people in the eye and say
This is who I am
A woman who could face danger for what she believes in
A woman of commitment, down for the long haul
A woman who could fight her own corner – and more
Someone you could count on to take your side
When you were facing injustice
Supposing either way – what difference would it make?
