Philippa Mannion, 20, Glasgow
Where Have I Been? Where Are We Going?
More like where have you been.
With your short skirt, bun on display.
Proud to be a woman
proud to wear no clothes outside nightclubs
flirt with bouncers on the way in
to get in
so young to be so mis-under-dressed.
More like where have you been
shaving your legs
in the winter, when we're supposed to utilise it for warmth
for comfort
cleavage on a cold winter's day
goosebumps
stealing other men's coats
other men's eyes
White pale skin
a distraction
where have I been
all these years
hiding behind all the men in my life
my boyfriends
my father
my uncle
my brother
not caring what I wear
not caring if you don't stare.
I don't have a wealth of knowledge behind me
I'm at university
the place where you realise you know nothing
from school
where you thought you knew everything
I don't know about suffrage
I don't vote
I've not studied history
so how do I write my herstory
I love my boyfriend.
I love my father
I like being straight
I love being post-feminist
I don't want to be feminist
Guess what
women don't have enough rights
we don't get paid enough.
But I can write this
and I can say what I like
and I'm sorry about all the women
that can't.
I pay my money to Amnesty International
and I try to be kind to everyone.
But what about climate change?
what about influenza?
what about species extinction?
what about economic collapse?
what about the global water crisis?
What are we going to do about these things?
Where are we going?
More like where are we going to end up
if we don't unite together
if we don't stand together
I propose a HUmanifesto
I propose a manifesto that encompasses all
nature, environment, people, animals
I propose we work out what to do together.
I don't know
But let's do it together.