I Am A Woman Because I Choose To Be

I am a woman because disapproving looks taught me not to go topless at the swimming pool as a child.

I am a woman because, for three years in middle school, I feared that every instance of physical exertion leading to sweat between my thighs would actually reveal itself to be the blood that I was yet unprepared for.

I am a woman because I learned to wield a razor at eleven and to fear my body at twelve.

I am a woman because I learned deprivation was the art of physical attraction.

I am a woman because the haircut that gave me freedom to play without concern also denied me the “girl” toy in every happy meal.

I am a woman because, for five days each month, staircases exist for the sole purpose of testing whether or not my undergarments are up to the task of protecting my breasts from bouncing in pain.

I am a woman because the number on the inside of my jeans correlates to my self-worth.

I am a woman because I am the ultimate creator.

I am a woman because my sexuality both demonizes and exalts me.

I am a woman because I bleed for five days and don’t die.

I am a woman because my ultimate challenge, and reward, is in learning to receive.

I am a woman because my orgasm is treated as secondary.

I am a woman because my body has the ability to grow life.

I am a woman because, regardless of my haircut, or the way I choose to dress myself, I am filled with a strength that belongs only to others of my gender – and those that associate with it.

I am a woman because of the size of my heart.

I am a woman because I know the agony that it is to choose an abortion over a baby.

I am a woman because my body grants me that choice.

I am a woman because tears are my respite, and salt water is my joy.

I am a woman because the number on the inside of my jeans means nothing to me.

I am a woman because my intuition guides me in a way that I cannot, and care not to, explain.

I am a woman because of my capacity to love.

I am a woman because, even without a child of my own, I mother.

I am a woman because I choose to be.

Because I shake the earth, and howl at the moon, and bathe in dust, and dance naked under the scorching sun of the desert.

I am a woman because my life is pleasure and orgasms are mine to claim.

I am a woman because I hold the power to create real magic.

I am a woman because I feel every last drop of emotion in the sea.

I am a woman because divinity is my birthright.

I am a woman because she is who I chose to be.