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Women aren’t having it anymore. We’re done sitting pretty and being silent as society rips us apart. We’re finally speaking up and in the most public way possible. One woman who has done that recently is singer Halsey. She attended Glamour’s Women of the Year Summit and decided to read an original poem entitled “Inconvenient Woman.” Before we break it down, you can read or watch the full poem here.
The poem is segmented into different scenarios wherein women are considered an inconvenience to the people around them. At work, the men call her crazy because she asked for more challenging work. And when she requested some tasks with more substance / He glanced at his phone and responded, disgusted / “Please lower your voice, and how dare you approach me. At home, her husband complains about her depression and lack of sexual activity. He walks in, he’s angry, he asks about dinner / “But couldn’t we just order in,” she considers / He stares with a vacant and displeased expression / “So why do we pay for those therapy sessions? I’m sure you can relate to this on some level. If you haven’t experienced these yourself, maybe you know of someone who has. Hard work is overlooked and feelings are shoved aside, but not anymore.
Halsey also spoke of politics and how when men and women run against each other, different strategies are used. While most people already take men seriously, women have to adjust and use their looks to grab attention. But why do I need to look pretty to be seen? / I’m far better qualified and he’s just plain mean / While he’s loud and he’s touting a hot wife to gloat / So you know that’ll earn him the working-class vote. We know this all too well. Even if the men who are running lack the experience, respect, and open-mindedness, people vote to put them in office anyway.
In the latter part of her speech, she addressed the previous poem she wrote for the 2018 Women’s March in New York. Ever since the march I’ve been asked to write poems / But irony proves to be just ever-growin’ / I’m asked to address how to be “inconvenient” / But before I can speak, first they want me to screen it. It’s great that people want to hear more from her but why can’t they just have her give it raw and real? Halsey continued, They’re scared that I’ll freak out and do something wild! / But censorship really just isn’t my style.
With what women have been going through for centuries, thank goodness for people like Halsey who aren’t afraid to speak for herself and others who are afraid to.
Photo courtesy of Halsey’s Instagram account
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