I am short. I am brown. I am silly. I am loving. I am a woman.
Everyday I wake up as this woman, I get to stand tall, put my shoulders back and glide; to feel my hips sway to a beat that resonates from within. I get to touch my hair and smile at the way it frames my face. I get to remember that the 13-year-old boy getting dressed in his room thinks I’m the best thing since sliced bread.
Being a woman, for me, is being excited about the opportunity to love my husband with everything I have. It’s smiling at the idea that these little arms will be a constant comfort and resting place for him.
Waking up a woman is being excited to celebrate other women. To celebrate their beauty, accomplishments, strides, and presence. It’s making sure crowns don’t slip and that tears don’t fall for long. It’s screaming “yesss sis” to the TV because you are my friend in my head and I’m happy for you.
I’m not sure if there was ever a point when I felt like being a woman was a negative thing.
Being a woman affords me the opportunity to bear children, to be a mother, sister, daughter; all things that cannot be taken away from me. These are things that I celebrate; that I strive to do well and embrace.
However, if it was up to society, they would deem me less than. Lesser than a man, lesser in strength, even lesser in intelligence. There’s this idea that we cannot stand the same ground as our counterparts. It’s such an unfortunate thing because that dialogue takes away the opportunity to relish in the beauty of a woman. It takes away the opportunity to acknowledge the peace that has been brought to households because of a woman, bellies that have been filled because of a woman’s hands and a few pots. It takes away the opportunity to look at a woman and how she’s made and realize what she represents. To see hips made so sturdy that they can carry a child or be a resting place for a husband’s hand, to see lips so full that they can speak love or plant kisses, to see eyes so big they can look at souls and cry for those lost.
So yea, I’m not sure there was ever a point when being a woman was a negative thing. Yes, I am short, I am brown, and I am silly. I am a woman and that is an amazing thing to be.
Jessica Marie is a native Brooklynite with a deep love for her son, music, and words. She also hosts a podcast, God, Grits and Hips. When she's not writing, you can find her working for The Man, daydreaming about tacos, and trolling her friends.
To keep up with Jessica Marie, she can be found on Instagram under her personal profile (at request) and her podcast profile.
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