My Body My Choice: | Teen Ink

My Body My Choice:

September 10, 2021
By CheyenneC GOLD, Vero Beach, Florida
CheyenneC GOLD, Vero Beach, Florida
14 articles 0 photos 7 comments

Favorite Quote:
The kids who need the most love will ask for it in the most unloving ways.


Am I not a woman?

If I decide to not brush my hair, Does that make me lazy?

If I show my shoulders does it distract your eyes?

When I show my stomach does it force your stare?

If my shorts are not fingertip length does that make me a harlot?


The skin I can not shed, The body I was given.

You ask me to cover up,

That my body is too distracting,

But is not wrong to turn me into nothing more than a distraction or an object?

If I put on makeup does that mean I hate my natural self?


Would you prefer I sit still and silent?

Or weak and impressionable?

If I do not bite my tongue then I am aggressive, intolerable, and arrogant.

Am I not a woman?

A woman in America, Free to make my own decisions?


Am I not a woman?


The author's comments:

My school and society judge you based on what you wear say and do but a guy can wear tank tops and I cannot. A guy can have non-fingertip length shorts but I cannot. If he speaks his mind he gets a pat on the back and I receive disdain and punishment. How much sense does this culture make? support your fellow women in the fight against unequal dress codes.


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This article has 2 comments.


gwen_dunn said...
on Feb. 28 at 9:14 pm
gwen_dunn, Tolland, Connecticut
0 articles 0 photos 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
“It’s easier to be brave when you’re not alone.” - Amy Poehler

School dress codes are so freaking stupid. If guys get distracted because of something a girl is wearing, it sounds like maybe there’s an issue with guys that should be solved. Dress codes are just so sexist and outdated, too. Couldn’t have said it better myself!

Lydiaq ELITE said...
on Sep. 25 2021 at 10:36 pm
Lydiaq ELITE, Somonauk, Illinois
179 articles 54 photos 1026 comments

Favorite Quote:
The universe must be a teenage girl. So much darkness, so many stars.<br /> --me

Yes, this is a pressing and depressing issue presented in a clear powerful voice.