This powerful debut anthology from Pear Shaped Press features contributions by feminists from all walks of life. What started out as an introductory book for teens, has morphed into a set of stories and sentiments about the continued search for gender equality through the ages. A Teenager's Guide to Feminism is aimed at helping today's youth navigate the necessary but sometimes controversial topics surrounding what it means to be a feminist or a woman in modern society. Essays, letters, and poems range in topic from things we wish we could go back to tell our teenage selves, hopes and dreams for the future, and things we would tell our mothers and the other strong women who shaped us. From discussions of the changing ideologies around what it means to identify as a woman, to sexuality, beauty standards, and self-expression in a post #metoo world, this book shares stories of all kinds of love, coming of age, resilience, admiration, determination and advice to carry on. Most of all, it's a book to be shared, designed to encourage readers to define their own ideas of feminism and the female experience in an ever-changing world.
A Teenager's Guide to Feminism
Lessons from Life
Remember it is always darkest before the dawn
– Florence + The Machine
I have learned sometimes
I was my own abuser,
careening out of control
on a path of sabotage. Forgiveness
is meant for myself first.
Healing has no concept of time.
I have learned that not every fight
needs a battle; I was not made
for war. Death is not something
to wait for. Life is about connection,
education, is a journey of continual
growth.
I have learned to stop looking back
at paths not taken.
To not drop my burdens, and lade
myself with others’.
I have learned that it is okay to ask for help.
Let me say that again
It. Is. Okay. To. Ask. For. Help.
It is not okay to pretend. I am only fooling
myself.
I have learned that being heard
doesn’t mean I have to be loud,
but I will be loud for what I believe in!
Silence, like cancer, kills!
I have learned I am
comfortable with who I am,
most days. Not defined by anyone.
Labels are for clothing.
I have learned that being funny doesn’t
mean I have
to be the joke.
Only children have no
concept of regret.
Hugs have power; crying has it too.
The love I require is right in the mirror.
I have learned expression
is survival; I
bleed on paper to breathe.
Darkness is temporary, I now carry pen
as a flashlight.
I have learned that I am an atheist.
It’s okay if you’re not.
I am a feminist. It is not okay
if you are not.
Integrity is everything.
I have learned
growth requires raw - real – truth.
I am a Survivor, which
means I am strong.
I am fiercely loved. I trust in
that love completely.
My family is my universe,
my sun, moon, and stars.
I have learned words/ have
the power/ you give them.
To listen more than to speak.
To savor a moment, turn it into
a memory. Laughter should
never be held back.
I was born.
I have learned I am worthy
of this life.
I am worthy
of love.
I am worthy.