Junebug

Junebug

by her mother

When they call her “sir”

she lowers her head

and stares at her feet.

With thoughtless words

adults teach her to question

her inclination to be unique.

“Are you a boy? Or a girl?”

“A little man? Or a lady?

Junebug rolls her eyes.

Ignorant people

with irrelevant questions

refusing to empathize.

I hold her close,

I wipe her tears -

her little heart is wrecked.

Her little friends wear

bows in their hair

and she - around her neck.

Why does bow placement

change the message

her endearing style conveys?

Does it matter

what exists between

my daughter’s legs?

A girl she is,

a girl she has been,

a girl she loves to be.

But that doesn’t hinder

her growing passion for

climbing cherry trees.

She loves her pixie cut,

prefers ‘boy’ colors,

and rocks her skater shoes

To me, it’s simple

Her body, her decisions

She is always free to choose.

“Are you trying to turn

her into a lesbian?”

- I’m just raising my child.

“What do you want her to be?”

- I am hoping for compassionate,

fearless, strong, and wild.

Nibby-nose strangers

constantly hint about

the ‘gender’ of her birth.

Endless, pointless

questions - yet I try

to reassure her of her worth.

“Why do they think

that I am a boy?”

My motherly frustration takes hold...

But…

“heteronormative gender roles that are socially constructed strongly influence our society into forcing young children to link their gender identities to their binary biological sex assignment, which was given at birth, and is then reinforced with a cisgender discourse by asshole bigoted adults”

seems a little complex

for a nine year old.

Katelyn made herself into a PPG Character.