My Body is a Cage | Teen Ink

My Body is a Cage

February 13, 2021
By ilanadrake PLATINUM, New York, New York
ilanadrake PLATINUM, New York, New York
23 articles 1 photo 0 comments


Why are you doing this, America?

Land of the free, home of the brave

Who are you to make decisions for me

Regarding my body?


Dress codes in schools

Restricting girls with their figures

“No crop tops, no shorts below your fingertips”

Who are you to tell me what’s acceptable?


Cat calls still blamed on us

For wearing shorts too short

Two sixteen year old girls in denim shorts

Laughing about high school and boys

A 30-year-old guy on a bike saying “Hey cutie!”


We girls are taught too early on

Which clothes we shouldn’t wear

In order to not be a distraction

“Cover up!” but who are you to stare?


Restrictions on my uterus

Concerning a possible fetus

Men making the laws

When did religion govern us?


Your morals

Your views

Your understanding

Is not

Similar

To

Mine

Or

Another person’s


1973 was the year for access

A year where no more illegal abortions had to be performed

And in 2019, we change our views

As we challenge women’s rights

If girls are “equal” to guys,

Why is my body being jeopardized?


The author's comments:

I wrote this piece because of the recent news regarding abortion laws in the United States, and I thought about the rules that I have been introduced to as a young woman. 


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