I just watched this five times in a row. I cannot get over "There are days when I want people to like me more than I want to change the world." Too real, too real.
It's a poem , just bc men feel this way doesn't mean she can't say woman do too in the context she is talking about how she sometimes would rather look cool ,then stand up for fellow women. Can guys do the same thing, sure but she never said they couldn't.
I'm in love with her delivery of the last line; 'they begged us to be careful, to be safe, then told our brothers to go out and play'; she has that lingering glance and half-smile full of attitude that really drives home the message.
+Man Go Marie Curie, Vera Rubin, Rosalind Franklin, Elizabeth Blackburn, Jane Goodall, Ida Tacke, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Lise Meitner, Nettie Stevens, Chien Shiung Wu, Dorothy Hodgkin... read up
honestly the lines: "once a boy accused me of practicing misandry, 'you think you can take over the world?' and i said, 'no, i just want to see it. i just want to know it is there for someone.'" are my absolute favorite and so beautifully delievered
@@gabriellameattray9778 they want women who'll stay quiet and submissive, that will do whatever they want. What good is it for them when someone speaks up?
Just the idea, going from "women should be seen and not heard", that wallpaper symbolises that ideal: Someone up against the wall -i.e. not in the way- pretty to look at and silent. CHILLS! It particularly resonated with me because I use a lot of references from The Yellow Wallpaper (Gilman, 1892) in my novel (Ella's Ghost) which is about domestic abuse. TYW is so symbolic of someone being trapped in an abusive relationship, and for me this poem gives that connection with "wallpaper" a different - and poignant - depth.
theamazingminecraftpi I am failing to see the connection between this and my comment? In response to your misdirected comment, real feminists are striving for a world where the idea of masculinity is broken down to the point that men are not seen as weak when seeking help especially following any form of sexual assault. The 'feminists' who 'shut him down' need to be asked what they're fighting for.
www.rainn.org/statistics/victims-sexual-violence , www.rrsonline.org/?page_id=944 , www.nsvrc.org/sites/default/files/publications_nsvrc_factsheet_media-packet_statistics-about-sexual-violence_0.pdf literally on the first page of google when you type "rape statistics" You'll also find articles about the fact that men get raped, and that it's one of the most under-reported crimes in the country, and that rapists are more likely to get away with the crime than almost all other criminals. the issue shouldn't be who gets raped more often. It shouldn't be a battle of who has suffered more. The issue is that rape happens at all, and that our culture silences the victims, male or female, and lets the perpetrators go. And I understand that men are silenced more often than women, but sexism and toxic masculinity form a double-edged sword that hurts the wielder as well as the wielder's opponent. And the so called "feminists" who don't acknowledge that fact should reevaluate what the word "feminist" means before they start throwing it around.
"we text each other when we get home safe and it does not occur to us that not all of our guy friends dont have to do the same" I can relate to this sooo well. living in NYC means that my parents will send my brother off while keeping me caged to the house
+larkin1211 meanwhile 80% of homecide victims in the streets are men, your parents care more about your safety than your brother. maybe your parents should also care about the safety of your brother
Or you know maybe the reason our brothers are allowed to stay out later is because they're less likely to be raped. When I was 17 I had to be home by 8pm meanwhile my younger 13 year old brother had to come home when it was 11pm. Whenever I wanted to go someplace I had to call my mom at a halfway point and then when I got there so she would know I was safe. It isn't that they don't care about safety it's that they're less likely to be sexually assaulted. Maybe 80% of homicides on the street men are the victims, but what percentage of kidnapped victims are women, was percentage is men? Whats the percentage of rape victims?
+larkin1211 Wow, it looks like this poem and certainly that line went over a lot of people's heads. I wonder if we can ever get to a point where it doesn't have to be this way, where I could tell you to stay safe out there and it could be more about mindfulness crossing the street and not foremost about being mindful of every man you may encounter.
Chloe Whitaker less likely to be raped but more likey to be killed in the street are boys and men. and i really hate it that parents like yours always thinks that the worst thing what happend to a child is rape but not murder. i rather had my child raped than murdered, atleast i could help my child to overcome his trauma, but if he or she is dead i couldnt do anthing anymore than just cry. when your parents allowed your little brother to go out till 11pm, their are really irresponsible, they should do the same for your brother, always calling him if he is safe. and as a child minder i woud call child protective service if your brother was really out till 11pm, but it seems that your story is only made up. because if its not you should CALL NOW your child protection service in your area
I say, "I am a feminist I don't hate men" in the same breath. I just realized that what I am saying, every single time is, "I am a feminist but I don't want you to disapprove."
Heeey here's your letter too real. Of course, I DONT hate men at all, and I think we should all be equal. But it seems like sometimes they're so entitled that eventually we have no choice but to make it all relate back to them, but they have no shame in not speaking out for us.
I am a feminist. I don't hate men, but sometimes I wonder why I don't. My sister was raped. My mother was raped. I was raped. The number of women I know who have been abused by men they loved are too many to count and name. The names of the women who died at the hands of those men haunt me. They act like it's so horrible to fear and hate men when we live in fear of them. We ignore them, and they murder us. When will it stop?
This reminded me of the time I asked my male friend to come over to my house bc there was a guy coming by to fix the fridge..he asked why & I said "well I'm gonna be alone with a male in the house that idk" "....lol ok?" It literally did not make sense to him why I had to ask him to come over. That was such an eye opening moment for me. To me, that's my normal response & to him it was the most miraculous wonder in the world.
Monitor Jonny Thanks for undermining and simplifying an issue that is all too relevant. It must be nice for you to stand in the same room of an unknown individual of the opposite sex and feel safe & secure and mock this all too common situation for women. Reminds me why our society is the way it is. It must be nice to live in ignorance.
+Adam Sloss Is a Boss Have you ever heard of the LGBTQ+ community? You should look it up. Just because not only women get raped does not mean that men are not more likely to be the ones on the other end.
wtf its like russian roulette; of course not all men are rapists but would you take that chance? if statistically, 1 in 4 girls are sexually assaulted before they turn 18? Obviously we don't think that way every time we speak to a man but I would rather be too safe and too paranoid than regret it
"there are days that I want people to like me more than I want to change the world" that really hit home for me. I admit I've been a pocket feminist out of fear of so many things. this really motivates me to speak up more. beautifully spoken!!!
+mmaposer it has nothing to do with the pepper spray itself. It's talking about the likelihood of women being raped. She's referencing the society we have created where a woman carrying a weapon at all times is not only expected, but often times necessary. She's saying the conflict we have in our current world: people want to say that sexism no longer exists and that rape culture isn't real, while simultaneously being aware of the fact that women are portrayed as mere sexual objects to men, and are therefore more likely to be raped. So, no, telling someone to carry pepper spray is not sexist. But it is reminiscent of a sexist society that perpetuates rape culture.
+London Iverson exactly. also, how bad is the situation if girls have to carry a thing for protecting themselves. Forgive me for this ridiculous comparison, but if my purse gets stolen, the person who's wrong is the thief, for stealing something that wasn't his to begin with, not me. of course, ppl would say you should've been more careful etc. but the main problem is not that. it's more about ethical values than about anything else. Sexism is just a set of excuses justifying these wrongdoings.
+London Iverson +Sanjivani Mandloi Rape culture doesn't exist in the west and rapists are far more likely to be someone you know than just a guy on the street. Simply taking precautions to protect yourself isn't an excuse for the criminal. Criminals are going to commit crimes its a fact of life, I mean you shouldn't have to lock your doors every night and even if you do you might still get broken into and noones going to blame you if you do, but simply taking precautions necessary to increase your chances of staying safe isn't sexism.
+Douglas the Fancy man I actually agree with you on most of those points. Rape culture, however, is very real. It's not JUST about women constantly needing to protect themselves, but how hard we make it for victims (boy or girl) to be honest about their stories, and how they can often be treated as a criminal. Of course criminals will commit crime, but if you were to have your wallet stolen, no one would be trying to blame you for it. Beyond that, people aren't saying things like "A culture that encourages stealing doesn't exist- but hey, never forget that you can't leave the house without a gun or a safe, because someone may try and rob you." As a woman, I have been taught from day one how to avoid being sexually assaulted. But you know what none of my brothers were ever taught? Not to rape. They weren't constantly told that they needed to learn to practice self control, but we women were taught how to not distract them. They weren't taught to pay attention to the needs of the person they are with, but we women were taught that we had to scream NO! in order to be taken seriously. This is what rape culture is, and this is how it continues to exist.
London Iverson I can't say I know what you were taught but I can safely say people in my country are taught in detail about consent in Sex education. As for actual rape victims No-one who is a decent human being will claim it was their fault if they come forward. I mean look at the Toby Turner rape allegations. I have not seen a single person claim it was April Effs fault the only thing I have seen is people arguing whether he actually did it or not.And as for the fact that you live in a culture where men aren't taught to protect themselves is honestly sexist against men not women.
It's hard sometimes to tell your guy friends that they're actually sexist pigs, but letting them behave that way is internalized misogyny. this poem is so important
I have a feeling in my gut that I should first adress that I am a male before continuing. I've had a genuinely interesting read in this comment thread. Personally, I feel that you both are right on a lot of things. To add to the discussion, why is the fact that girls have to be teached how not to get raped a bad thing exactly? I agree with you that in a perfect world, it shouldn't be happening at all. But we are long from anything that we can consider a perfect world. Therefore, it is necessary to do so. All children get some degree of 'safety measures' so they can get an impression on whom to trust and whom not to. It's a shame that women need that much more of it, but it is unfortunately inevitable. Or at least, to be expected. It is namely a fact that men are physcially stronger than woman, and hence we can conclude that men are more often in a position where they can take advantage of someone else, just by being born male (also thank testosterone for that). I should emphasize that this shouldn't make ANY difference at all. But until we are born completey equal (biologically), the problem will still persist. I'd love to hear your opinion on this.
yeah same. I just decided one day that I was going to surround myself with people who didn't mind/liked my feminist opinions and you would not believe the responses I've gotten from people. I've lost friends, my mom has told me I'm "so angry all the time" and I've gotten into debates on facebook with my cousin.
This isn't purely about stastics women no matter how false it or may not be are taught that they have to be extremely careful and cautious or else who knows what will happen. And I have heard be said to women , more than men personally. We are also more likely to be abused and raped ,why is it that every time a problem is brought up, someone feels the need to deflect from it . You're distracting from the conversation at hand. This is not to say what you mentioned isn't important just that it's not what we're talking about.
“We are the daughters of men who warned us about the news and missing girls on the milk cartons in the sharp edge of the world. They begged us to be careful. To be safe. Then told our brothers to go out and play.” Don’t tell me I can’t be mad. Don’t ask me what’s wrong. This right here. This is what’s wrong.
The last line hit me hard..thats how I was raised. Literally...we were all given talks except the boys and when they were given talks it meant nothing. They were always on our toes about being safe and never on theirs.
It’s been five years since I first heard this poem, and it still resonates with me just as much. I’m in college now, and it’s hard some days to tread that line between being liked and being myself. It’s about safety, too-being liked, being desired affords me a certain kind of protection. But sometimes it feel dangerous, too, and I wonder if being desired is really worth all the trouble.
Her delivery is amazing.. It takes so much time and practice to perfect delivery, and she perfected it... Delivery is so important coz then you won't fully grasp on the content... And she had to get it right so the content is really heard and understood... 'some days I want people to like me more than I want to change the world'.. I think she has a gift to change the world, I'm glad she realizes it
This is my favorite poem in the entire world. Not only is it incredibly powerful, but each line is like a familiar punch in the gut. Blythe embodies everything I want to achieve within my own poetry.
I was just trying to find more poetry from Blythe last week.I'm so glad this came out. A good reminder after spending a long time caring more about people liking me than changing the world.
I am in awe. So much of this is relatable, the not wanting to speak up to appease friends, the being told that rape culture is over but in the same breath being warned to stay safe when im out alone and so on and so forth... Its been a while since a performance resonated with me so hard ...😁☺️
+Misha Kroon half of all domestic violence is against men, the figure for male rape is somewhere around 40 percent. There is no rape culture. Men aren't highfiving a dude who says that he raped someone. He goes to jail, and probably gets beat the fuck up while he's there.
+stuff I'm not denying any of that... The fact that men report rape less is rape culture, the fact that the statistic of rapists being jailed is way less than that of what is reported is rape culture... The fact men dont report rape and domestic abuse is the fault of institutionalise and normalised sexism... Youre literally making an argument out of nothing.
+Misha Kroon Men do report rape and domestic violence. It's just that feminist don't A: talk about it or B: believe it can happen. What you describe as rape and rape culture is only diluting the real meaning of rape and belittling those who have actually dealt with it. I'm arguing that rape culture is a progressive myth that is pernicious for everyone.
stuff Feminists do talk about it, just recently there was a female teacher who raped a teenage boy. It was the men saying he should’ve enjoyed it. This isn’t about who has it worse. Also, does he fuck go to jail. Brock Turner went to jail for three fucking months despite having multiple witnesses having to rip him off an unconscious women. This is engrained from day dot.
As soon as that last line hit after everything horrendous before it... "then told our brothers to go out and play" that shot CHILLS up my spine. INCREDIBLE.
depends how you look at it. 99% of the time it isnt. unless you want to think of it as violence then sure it is. but for normal people that can think for themselves its not an act of violence. because well it simply is not.
One day this guy from my work asked me if he could drive me home i told him sure but i need to text my mom first he laughed because he didn’t understand. he never had to text his mom that he was on his way bc for him the chance that something would was way smaller. After he saw that I wasn’t amused he asked me why i needed to text my mom that i was on my way. I explained to him that my mom made me promise her like little red ridinghood to never stray from the path, to always take the same route home and to text her when i left and where i was so she would know where to look first, when i took to long to get home. He looked at me a little confused. not understanding the danger that lurked behind those two boys who looked our way, he thought that they were just watching but i knew they were silently hoping that that day he wouldn’t be there to drive me home. That that day they finally got their shot. Because they some how always seemed to find me. they some how always were there when i needed pass that exact spot. It was almost like they followed me. After i told him he looked there way and finally saw the thread behind those smiles that seemed so charming but were poisoned with lust. It since that day that he always drives me home and never laughs when a girl needs to text her mom that she’s on her way home and to be worried because she isn’t alone
@@cheyennefrans6959 if you bothered to look at research rather than feminist fee fees, you'd know that men face 2-4x the violence woman do, especially from strangers. This idea that men are inherently safer is stupid and based only on womenworsting.
Blyde is such an inspiration. I want to meet her and just hug her. She has given me confidence and the power to speak out. She has opened up the world to me. I love her so much.
This poem gave me chills. I'm a freshman in college this year, and I didn't really believe the rumors. I didn't think that this sort of thing happened a lot. It happens a lot.
I watched this poem over and over again for 20 minutes. It's truly sad that I can relate to almost everything she is saying. Favorite point she made: We text each other to make sure we got home safe, but it doesn't occur to us that our male friends don't have to do that.
amazing, I Blyth's voice and the way she said her words, they sounded so real, but also calm and focused, i loved it:) I loved how her poem went straight to the point and didn't cut around anything, it was beautiful. Thank you.
As a father raising a son ... this poem made me think ... and think deeply about the messages I send him about how to be a man and how to treat women... keep speaking out!
Fear is about generalisation, not all spiders will bite you and/or poison you, but some people are still scared of all spiders; its works in the same way as not all (its fact a very small percentage of) men are rapists, but that doesn't mean I haven't been worried that probably all of my male friends at some point could take advantage of a situation and become that percentage. That isnt to say that women cant be that same generalised fear, but its less occurrent. How many men to you know get worried about walking home alone through fear of being raped or sexually assaulted by a woman? Im willing to bet there'll be very very few if any. The number of reported sexual assaults/rape cases perpetrated by men on women is a lot higher than the opposite; the fear, whilst potentially harmful, is founded. (I'm pretty ill right now, so i hope that makes at least a little sense)
+Jan Michael Vincent But I didnt, if you refer to the 3rd or 4th to last sentence, I said very few (but they do exist) men are afraid of being raped/sexually assaulted because it is less occurrent. Youre completely missing the point and trying to start an argument about nothing.
Your description about spiders is spot on. How would you feel about that analogy being applied to blacks being potential criminals? Careful with generalizations. Men are not afraid of sexual assault, but are very afraid of violent assault, have no doubts. The threat of a punch in the neck or a broken skull was recurrent in the teenage male society I grew up in.
LordF I totally agree with you, a lot of men are probably as afraid as women are about sexual assault, about physical assault. Im not denying that at all. I just feel like you're maybe missing the point, this performance is not demoting mens feelings about other things, its not saying, 'women are getting raped, it doesnt matter how men feel about getting beat up', its saying 'women are getting raped and their terrified, this is 1 issue in a million that we really need to deal with'. We as an audience are not forgetting that men have similar fears, but this space is a place for mostly women to discuss and relate with other people about their experiences with rape/rape culture (men can also join this conversations, as their experiences are equally as valid, but again they are just less prevalent). If you, as a male(but women can too), want a space to talk about your fears of physical violence there is no doubt a performance on this channel that provides you with such a space. Commenting about mens struggle with physical violence on a video about sexual violence feels a lot like youre saying 'yeah that sucks but look at me' Im sorry if thats sounds rude or blunt, I honestly do see and appreciate where youre coming from, I just feel like this isn't the right place to be changing the subject...
Misha Kroon Feelings are not an excuse to be a bigot. I grew up in a community where gipsies were violent thugs, robbed and threatened people with knives, and so on. No matter what my experience was, no matter what feelings I developed, I need to grow up, avoid making generalizations and judge people by their own character, not by my prejudices. A woman being afraid of men as potential rapists is a bigot BECAUSE of her feelings.
There was a day when my family whent 5 doors down the road to a friends house. I wanted to leave early, I needed an early night so I could get up early for work the next day, I tried to leave and my dad told me no. I couldn't walk 5 houses back to my bed on my own, at the age of 17 I was walked home by my 14 year old brother and his friend. Both of whom have harassed girls at parties and in the street. My dad trusted my 14 year old brother to walk me home and walk back on his own. But he did not trust his 17 year old daughter to walk 5 doors down alone
I’ve never heard a poem I relate to so much, I’m only 12 and already I’ve been catcalled, already I’m a passionate feminist, already it’s so exhausting that some days I just want to give up and let the guys take over - I won’t though - this poem embodies everything I want to say but can’t find the words for - thank you.
I'm both relieved and outraged she called out the elephant in the room in my head. This is a really a uncomfortable, stomach-ache inducing poem. It gave me a case of those hot angry tears I get when I can't help in a situation. I normally get a feeling of resignation afterwards and can't wait for this life to end so I never have to hold myself accountable for looking the other way anymore but this poem turned my usual cowardliness on its head. It really made me face the consequences of being silent, and honestly, keeping the peace has never been worth the nagging guilt and sudden headache I feel afterwards. It isn't entirely our fault, but silent feminists might play an unintentional role in the reasons why they say it'd take 100 years to reach global gender equality.
I didn’t realised the “text me when you get” so they know there safe, I’ve had my brother tell me to text him to make sure I got home safely also I’ve had a girl that I just met to text her when I get home to make sure I’m safe but nobody told him
AHHH love this poem so much ohmygod I was excited as soon as I saw it pop up because I remember really liking her last poem about eating disorders. Well done and so powerfully worded
I consider myself very lucky, as I grew up surrounded by my brothers (and father) who never treated me as though my gender made me different. They taught me how to fight and how to defend myself - I knew all the swear words when I was four and they showed my that man spreading is considered rude by our mother, but if a male is doing it to me they told me I should do it back. They never once let their friends exclude me out of games and they never told me “you’re just a girl”. While our neighbours called me “unladylike”, they were showing me how to be stronger than any man who tries to take part of me. Their respect for women comes from our father - who worships the ground our mum walks on. He knows if it was not for her, then he would not be here. This is a fact. For his knowledge, and my brothers respect, I am a grateful. Their daughters will grow up knowing that they are worthy of taking up space, worthy of being whole.
"Is silence not an act of violence too?" This line got me.
+xoiammaixoify Me too! Also the last one.
+xoiammaixoify That was the one that got me, too.
+Mai I always say "silence is compliance"
....
Can we devote more of our focus on the SEVERELY UNDERREPORTED AND STIGMATIZED CRIME of rape before we focus our microscopes on the problem of lying?
I just watched this five times in a row. I cannot get over "There are days when I want people to like me more than I want to change the world."
Too real, too real.
+WhittyNovels Exactly the sentence that sticks with me.
WhittyNovels you mean every day you walking disaster
im a guy and that's a human ass felling not some damn girl problem
It's a poem , just bc men feel this way doesn't mean she can't say woman do too in the context she is talking about how she sometimes would rather look cool ,then stand up for fellow women. Can guys do the same thing, sure but she never said they couldn't.
yes that sentence got me too ... like damn it is true
I'm in love with her delivery of the last line; 'they begged us to be careful, to be safe, then told our brothers to go out and play'; she has that lingering glance and half-smile full of attitude that really drives home the message.
ps she looks as pretty as ever
Ikr👌🏼
theamazingminecraftpi where did i say anything about oppression lol
Ben Liow I got chills
Ben Liow 😭🤧
"They begged us to be careful, to be safe... Then told our brothers to go out and play."
I've thought about this a lot and she phrased my thoughts perfectly
+Hannah D. that was one of my favorite lines! She worded it so well
Probably why men are the vast majority of homicides....
That really hit home...
+Mariam Assi Same
"you think you can change the world?"
"No, I just want to see it" oh.my.god.
+Man Go Marie Curie, Vera Rubin, Rosalind Franklin, Elizabeth Blackburn, Jane Goodall, Ida Tacke, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Lise Meitner, Nettie Stevens, Chien Shiung Wu, Dorothy Hodgkin... read up
honestly the lines:
"once a boy accused me of practicing misandry, 'you think you can take over the world?'
and i said, 'no, i just want to see it. i just want to know it is there for someone.'"
are my absolute favorite and so beautifully delievered
ikkkrrr
What does it mean
"This house is for wallpaper women. What good is wallpaper that speaks?"
So great.
That was one of my favorite lines too!
What does it mean
@@gabriellameattray9778 they want women who'll stay quiet and submissive, that will do whatever they want. What good is it for them when someone speaks up?
Just the idea, going from "women should be seen and not heard", that wallpaper symbolises that ideal: Someone up against the wall -i.e. not in the way- pretty to look at and silent. CHILLS! It particularly resonated with me because I use a lot of references from The Yellow Wallpaper (Gilman, 1892) in my novel (Ella's Ghost) which is about domestic abuse. TYW is so symbolic of someone being trapped in an abusive relationship, and for me this poem gives that connection with "wallpaper" a different - and poignant - depth.
'There are days where I want people to like more than I want to change the world'
this is too real
my favorite line
theamazingminecraftpi I am failing to see the connection between this and my comment?
In response to your misdirected comment, real feminists are striving for a world where the idea of masculinity is broken down to the point that men are not seen as weak when seeking help especially following any form of sexual assault. The 'feminists' who 'shut him down' need to be asked what they're fighting for.
I came here just to heard again that line.
Miss Alwaily n
www.rainn.org/statistics/victims-sexual-violence , www.rrsonline.org/?page_id=944 , www.nsvrc.org/sites/default/files/publications_nsvrc_factsheet_media-packet_statistics-about-sexual-violence_0.pdf
literally on the first page of google when you type "rape statistics"
You'll also find articles about the fact that men get raped, and that it's one of the most under-reported crimes in the country, and that rapists are more likely to get away with the crime than almost all other criminals.
the issue shouldn't be who gets raped more often. It shouldn't be a battle of who has suffered more. The issue is that rape happens at all, and that our culture silences the victims, male or female, and lets the perpetrators go. And I understand that men are silenced more often than women, but sexism and toxic masculinity form a double-edged sword that hurts the wielder as well as the wielder's opponent. And the so called "feminists" who don't acknowledge that fact should reevaluate what the word "feminist" means before they start throwing it around.
"we text each other when we get home safe and it does not occur to us that not all of our guy friends dont have to do the same"
I can relate to this sooo well. living in NYC means that my parents will send my brother off while keeping me caged to the house
+larkin1211 meanwhile 80% of homecide victims in the streets are men, your parents care more about your safety than your brother. maybe your parents should also care about the safety of your brother
Or you know maybe the reason our brothers are allowed to stay out later is because they're less likely to be raped. When I was 17 I had to be home by 8pm meanwhile my younger 13 year old brother had to come home when it was 11pm. Whenever I wanted to go someplace I had to call my mom at a halfway point and then when I got there so she would know I was safe. It isn't that they don't care about safety it's that they're less likely to be sexually assaulted. Maybe 80% of homicides on the street men are the victims, but what percentage of kidnapped victims are women, was percentage is men? Whats the percentage of rape victims?
+larkin1211 Wow, it looks like this poem and certainly that line went over a lot of people's heads. I wonder if we can ever get to a point where it doesn't have to be this way, where I could tell you to stay safe out there and it could be more about mindfulness crossing the street and not foremost about being mindful of every man you may encounter.
Chloe Whitaker less likely to be raped but more likey to be killed in the street are boys and men. and i really hate it that parents like yours always thinks that the worst thing what happend to a child is rape but not murder. i rather had my child raped than murdered, atleast i could help my child to overcome his trauma, but if he or she is dead i couldnt do anthing anymore than just cry. when your parents allowed your little brother to go out till 11pm, their are really irresponsible, they should do the same for your brother, always calling him if he is safe. and as a child minder i woud call child protective service if your brother was really out till 11pm, but it seems that your story is only made up. because if its not you should CALL NOW your child protection service in your area
+bboysoulzero you'd seriously call Child services cause a parent let's their child stay out late?
I say, "I am a feminist I don't hate men" in the same breath. I just realized that what I am saying, every single time is, "I am a feminist but I don't want you to disapprove."
Heeey here's your letter too real. Of course, I DONT hate men at all, and I think we should all be equal. But it seems like sometimes they're so entitled that eventually we have no choice but to make it all relate back to them, but they have no shame in not speaking out for us.
I'm a feminist and I don't hate men. I hate the men who think that women are objects.
FUUCCCKKKK. I never thought about it like this.
I am a feminist. I don't hate men, but sometimes I wonder why I don't.
My sister was raped. My mother was raped. I was raped. The number of women I know who have been abused by men they loved are too many to count and name. The names of the women who died at the hands of those men haunt me.
They act like it's so horrible to fear and hate men when we live in fear of them. We ignore them, and they murder us. When will it stop?
meee
This reminded me of the time I asked my male friend to come over to my house bc there was a guy coming by to fix the fridge..he asked why & I said "well I'm gonna be alone with a male in the house that idk" "....lol ok?"
It literally did not make sense to him why I had to ask him to come over. That was such an eye opening moment for me. To me, that's my normal response & to him it was the most miraculous wonder in the world.
Monitor Jonny Thanks for undermining and simplifying an issue that is all too relevant. It must be nice for you to stand in the same room of an unknown individual of the opposite sex and feel safe & secure and mock this all too common situation for women. Reminds me why our society is the way it is.
It must be nice to live in ignorance.
Matthew Lawson That's not what I'm saying, that's what feminazis are saying.
What, did you just fucking assume his gender??? its 2016 fam
+Adam Sloss Is a Boss Have you ever heard of the LGBTQ+ community? You should look it up. Just because not only women get raped does not mean that men are not more likely to be the ones on the other end.
wtf its like russian roulette; of course not all men are rapists but would you take that chance? if statistically, 1 in 4 girls are sexually assaulted before they turn 18? Obviously we don't think that way every time we speak to a man but I would rather be too safe and too paranoid than regret it
"there are days that I want people to like me more than I want to change the world" that really hit home for me. I admit I've been a pocket feminist out of fear of so many things. this really motivates me to speak up more. beautifully spoken!!!
I am a simple girl. I see a poet by blythe, I click.
ha ha I do that
She is amazing and she speaks for so many girls
"They gawk at her mouth like it's a clogged drain with too many opinions."
If we're being honest, it is.
+chavezery09 aren't we all
This is just so sad. All my life I've been a woman of strong opinions but I notice that men only want to hear me when is what I think like them.
my father told me sexism is dead and told me to carry a pepper spray in the same breath.
+mmaposer it has nothing to do with the pepper spray itself. It's talking about the likelihood of women being raped. She's referencing the society we have created where a woman carrying a weapon at all times is not only expected, but often times necessary. She's saying the conflict we have in our current world: people want to say that sexism no longer exists and that rape culture isn't real, while simultaneously being aware of the fact that women are portrayed as mere sexual objects to men, and are therefore more likely to be raped.
So, no, telling someone to carry pepper spray is not sexist. But it is reminiscent of a sexist society that perpetuates rape culture.
+London Iverson exactly. also, how bad is the situation if girls have to carry a thing for protecting themselves. Forgive me for this ridiculous comparison, but if my purse gets stolen, the person who's wrong is the thief, for stealing something that wasn't his to begin with, not me. of course, ppl would say you should've been more careful etc. but the main problem is not that. it's more about ethical values than about anything else.
Sexism is just a set of excuses justifying these wrongdoings.
+London Iverson +Sanjivani Mandloi Rape culture doesn't exist in the west and rapists are far more likely to be someone you know than just a guy on the street. Simply taking precautions to protect yourself isn't an excuse for the criminal. Criminals are going to commit crimes its a fact of life, I mean you shouldn't have to lock your doors every night and even if you do you might still get broken into and noones going to blame you if you do, but simply taking precautions necessary to increase your chances of staying safe isn't sexism.
+Douglas the Fancy man I actually agree with you on most of those points. Rape culture, however, is very real. It's not JUST about women constantly needing to protect themselves, but how hard we make it for victims (boy or girl) to be honest about their stories, and how they can often be treated as a criminal. Of course criminals will commit crime, but if you were to have your wallet stolen, no one would be trying to blame you for it. Beyond that, people aren't saying things like "A culture that encourages stealing doesn't exist- but hey, never forget that you can't leave the house without a gun or a safe, because someone may try and rob you." As a woman, I have been taught from day one how to avoid being sexually assaulted. But you know what none of my brothers were ever taught? Not to rape. They weren't constantly told that they needed to learn to practice self control, but we women were taught how to not distract them. They weren't taught to pay attention to the needs of the person they are with, but we women were taught that we had to scream NO! in order to be taken seriously. This is what rape culture is, and this is how it continues to exist.
London Iverson I can't say I know what you were taught but I can safely say people in my country are taught in detail about consent in Sex education. As for actual rape victims No-one who is a decent human being will claim it was their fault if they come forward. I mean look at the Toby Turner rape allegations. I have not seen a single person claim it was April Effs fault the only thing I have seen is people arguing whether he actually did it or not.And as for the fact that you live in a culture where men aren't taught to protect themselves is honestly sexist against men not women.
That last line.Also, when button poetry doesn't happen in your town.
Check out the SlamFind app to see if there are shows near you!
+Button Poetry y'all replied to me! aaaahhh!!!
Come to Kenya please!!
"There are days I want people to like me more than I want to change the world."
I feel that on so many levels.
Such a beautiful poem.
It's hard sometimes to tell your guy friends that they're actually sexist pigs, but letting them behave that way is internalized misogyny. this poem is so important
pathetic
You were just taught to pe paranoid
I have a feeling in my gut that I should first adress that I am a male before continuing.
I've had a genuinely interesting read in this comment thread. Personally, I feel that you both are right on a lot of things. To add to the discussion, why is the fact that girls have to be teached how not to get raped a bad thing exactly? I agree with you that in a perfect world, it shouldn't be happening at all. But we are long from anything that we can consider a perfect world. Therefore, it is necessary to do so. All children get some degree of 'safety measures' so they can get an impression on whom to trust and whom not to. It's a shame that women need that much more of it, but it is unfortunately inevitable. Or at least, to be expected. It is namely a fact that men are physcially stronger than woman, and hence we can conclude that men are more often in a position where they can take advantage of someone else, just by being born male (also thank testosterone for that). I should emphasize that this shouldn't make ANY difference at all. But until we are born completey equal (biologically), the problem will still persist. I'd love to hear your opinion on this.
+tessablue except you do the exact same thing to men... Hipocrism at it's finest.
+tessablue Holy shit I can't take this anymore! wtf just stfu! these long comments keep on repeating the same statements!
"They gawk at her mouth like it is a drain clogged with too many opinions." damn.
Fuller Mac ...what?
+Fuller Mac What is wrong with you?
"There are days when I want people to like me more than I want to change the world."
Hits right home.
"There are days when I want people to like me more than I want to change the world"
+Aine Dargan
Strangely enough, this is the one sentence I couldn't relate to. I don't need people to like me, because I don't care about most.
yeah same. I just decided one day that I was going to surround myself with people who didn't mind/liked my feminist opinions and you would not believe the responses I've gotten from people. I've lost friends, my mom has told me I'm "so angry all the time" and I've gotten into debates on facebook with my cousin.
"Is silence not an act of violence, too?"
That line is so true 💙
that thing about "sexism is dead - but heres some mace" is soooo my dad
This isn't purely about stastics women no matter how false it or may not be are taught that they have to be extremely careful and cautious or else who knows what will happen. And I have heard be said to women , more than men personally. We are also more likely to be abused and raped ,why is it that every time a problem is brought up, someone feels the need to deflect from it . You're distracting from the conversation at hand. This is not to say what you mentioned isn't important just that it's not what we're talking about.
“We are the daughters of men who warned us about the news and missing girls on the milk cartons in the sharp edge of the world. They begged us to be careful. To be safe.
Then told our brothers to go out and play.”
Don’t tell me I can’t be mad. Don’t ask me what’s wrong.
This right here. This is what’s wrong.
"there are days I want people to like me more than I want to change the world" shit that line gave me chills
Is it me or does Blythe have the best "last lines" of poems.
blythe and sara kay are so amazing. blythe is so poetic »»»
The last line hit me hard..thats how I was raised. Literally...we were all given talks except the boys and when they were given talks it meant nothing. They were always on our toes about being safe and never on theirs.
It’s been five years since I first heard this poem, and it still resonates with me just as much. I’m in college now, and it’s hard some days to tread that line between being liked and being myself. It’s about safety, too-being liked, being desired affords me a certain kind of protection. But sometimes it feel dangerous, too, and I wonder if being desired is really worth all the trouble.
The last line about how the boys are told to go out and play speaks to me so much. I love this poem and the poet
This poem actually has me in tears. It's so sad that almost everyone of us can relate
Her delivery is amazing.. It takes so much time and practice to perfect delivery, and she perfected it... Delivery is so important coz then you won't fully grasp on the content... And she had to get it right so the content is really heard and understood... 'some days I want people to like me more than I want to change the world'.. I think she has a gift to change the world, I'm glad she realizes it
This is my favorite poem in the entire world. Not only is it incredibly powerful, but each line is like a familiar punch in the gut. Blythe embodies everything I want to achieve within my own poetry.
"I want to stand up but if I do what if everyone notices I've been sitting this whole time?" Beautiful.
Every now and then, I go back and watch all of Blythe Baird's videos. SO powerful & SO hauntingly real.
the line "a boy who made a necklace out of his hands for me" or something like that is unreal, truly breathtaking one of my favorite poets
sitting here at my computer with tears in my eyes. Watched this twice in a row....so powerful, so true.
it disgust me how truthful this is
"Is silence not an act of violence too?"
this is such a powerful line
I was just trying to find more poetry from Blythe last week.I'm so glad this came out. A good reminder after spending a long time caring more about people liking me than changing the world.
"They told us to be careful, to be safe. Then told our brothers to go out and play."
As the eldest of four sisters, this hit me hard.
Blythe Baird writes the best feminism poetry
I watched this once a long time ago and I am back again. It feels new and equally powerful both times.
“Some days I want people to like me more than I want to change the world.” Years later, this still hits home. Blythe is a visionary.
'they begged us to be careful, to be safe, then told our brothers to go out and play' beautifully delivered....
I am in awe. So much of this is relatable, the not wanting to speak up to appease friends, the being told that rape culture is over but in the same breath being warned to stay safe when im out alone and so on and so forth... Its been a while since a performance resonated with me so hard ...😁☺️
Do you think that just being a man suddenly makes being alone on the street during the night safe? Men make up the VAST majority of homicides. hello?
+Misha Kroon half of all domestic violence is against men, the figure for male rape is somewhere around 40 percent. There is no rape culture. Men aren't highfiving a dude who says that he raped someone. He goes to jail, and probably gets beat the fuck up while he's there.
+stuff I'm not denying any of that... The fact that men report rape less is rape culture, the fact that the statistic of rapists being jailed is way less than that of what is reported is rape culture... The fact men dont report rape and domestic abuse is the fault of institutionalise and normalised sexism...
Youre literally making an argument out of nothing.
+Misha Kroon Men do report rape and domestic violence. It's just that feminist don't A: talk about it or B: believe it can happen. What you describe as rape and rape culture is only diluting the real meaning of rape and belittling those who have actually dealt with it. I'm arguing that rape culture is a progressive myth that is pernicious for everyone.
stuff Feminists do talk about it, just recently there was a female teacher who raped a teenage boy. It was the men saying he should’ve enjoyed it. This isn’t about who has it worse. Also, does he fuck go to jail. Brock Turner went to jail for three fucking months despite having multiple witnesses having to rip him off an unconscious women.
This is engrained from day dot.
As soon as that last line hit after everything horrendous before it... "then told our brothers to go out and play" that shot CHILLS up my spine. INCREDIBLE.
“I once told a man I was powerful and he told me to mind my own business” whhhooooaaaaaaa I love this line so much!!!!
GodDAMN, this poem had me in chills. As always, Button Poetry delivers. Excellent delivery and amazing message!
Blythe Baird is one of my favorite poets and seeing her name pop up on my feed made my day! Thanks!!
I read somewhere that women are raised to be fearful, and men are raised to be fearless.
"They told us to be safe. Then told our brothers to go out and play." GOOSEBUMPS EVVVVERRRYYYYYYWHERE
“You think you can take over the world?
No, i just want to see it.”
One of my favourite lines, ever.
that last line gives me chills
"Is silence not an act of violence too" wow I have goosebumps
depends how you look at it. 99% of the time it isnt. unless you want to think of it as violence then sure it is. but for normal people that can think for themselves its not an act of violence. because well it simply is not.
My favourite spoken word I have ever heard. Never fails to inspire.
"Then told our brothers to go out and play" CHILLS that's the part no one speaks about
"We text each other when we get home safe and it does not occur to us that not all of our guy friends have to do the same."
One day this guy from my work asked me if he could drive me home i told him sure but i need to text my mom first he laughed because he didn’t understand. he never had to text his mom that he was on his way bc for him the chance that something would was way smaller. After he saw that I wasn’t amused he asked me why i needed to text my mom that i was on my way. I explained to him that my mom made me promise her like little red ridinghood to never stray from the path, to always take the same route home and to text her when i left and where i was so she would know where to look first, when i took to long to get home. He looked at me a little confused. not understanding the danger that lurked behind those two boys who looked our way, he thought that they were just watching but i knew they were silently hoping that that day he wouldn’t be there to drive me home. That that day they finally got their shot. Because they some how always seemed to find me. they some how always were there when i needed pass that exact spot. It was almost like they followed me. After i told him he looked there way and finally saw the thread behind those smiles that seemed so charming but were poisoned with lust. It since that day that he always drives me home and never laughs when a girl needs to text her mom that she’s on her way home and to be worried because she isn’t alone
@@cheyennefrans6959 if you bothered to look at research rather than feminist fee fees, you'd know that men face 2-4x the violence woman do, especially from strangers. This idea that men are inherently safer is stupid and based only on womenworsting.
Blyde is such an inspiration. I want to meet her and just hug her. She has given me confidence and the power to speak out. She has opened up the world to me. I love her so much.
Her last lines was genius by its self, but her delivery gave my chills
This is my favorite poem and has been since it came out. I know the whole thing by heart. So powerful.
Blythe is such a strong spoken word artist. she's just so amazing and has such powerful messages.
This poem gave me chills. I'm a freshman in college this year, and I didn't really believe the rumors. I didn't think that this sort of thing happened a lot. It happens a lot.
this is my absolute favorite poem ever. so many lines gave me the chills
I watched this poem over and over again for 20 minutes. It's truly sad that I can relate to almost everything she is saying. Favorite point she made: We text each other to make sure we got home safe, but it doesn't occur to us that our male friends don't have to do that.
It literally didn't occur to me that guys don't text each other they got home safe... I'm close to tears I love her ❤️
amazing, I Blyth's voice and the way she said her words, they sounded so real, but also calm and focused, i loved it:) I loved how her poem went straight to the point and didn't cut around anything, it was beautiful. Thank you.
"I still carry the guilt around in my purse." Wow! You are an amazing poet!
I screamed when I saw Blythe came out with a new poem
Oh my lord her voice is so raw I could listen to this on replay
I gey goosebumps whenever she says the word "once".
As a father raising a son ... this poem made me think ... and think deeply about the messages I send him about how to be a man and how to treat women... keep speaking out!
Fear is about generalisation, not all spiders will bite you and/or poison you, but some people are still scared of all spiders; its works in the same way as not all (its fact a very small percentage of) men are rapists, but that doesn't mean I haven't been worried that probably all of my male friends at some point could take advantage of a situation and become that percentage. That isnt to say that women cant be that same generalised fear, but its less occurrent. How many men to you know get worried about walking home alone through fear of being raped or sexually assaulted by a woman? Im willing to bet there'll be very very few if any. The number of reported sexual assaults/rape cases perpetrated by men on women is a lot higher than the opposite; the fear, whilst potentially harmful, is founded.
(I'm pretty ill right now, so i hope that makes at least a little sense)
You forgot to mention the fact, that a lot of young boys(including myself), have a fear of being raped by older/younger men and women.
+Jan Michael Vincent But I didnt, if you refer to the 3rd or 4th to last sentence, I said very few (but they do exist) men are afraid of being raped/sexually assaulted because it is less occurrent. Youre completely missing the point and trying to start an argument about nothing.
Your description about spiders is spot on. How would you feel about that analogy being applied to blacks being potential criminals? Careful with generalizations.
Men are not afraid of sexual assault, but are very afraid of violent assault, have no doubts. The threat of a punch in the neck or a broken skull was recurrent in the teenage male society I grew up in.
LordF I totally agree with you, a lot of men are probably as afraid as women are about sexual assault, about physical assault. Im not denying that at all.
I just feel like you're maybe missing the point, this performance is not demoting mens feelings about other things, its not saying, 'women are getting raped, it doesnt matter how men feel about getting beat up', its saying 'women are getting raped and their terrified, this is 1 issue in a million that we really need to deal with'.
We as an audience are not forgetting that men have similar fears, but this space is a place for mostly women to discuss and relate with other people about their experiences with rape/rape culture (men can also join this conversations, as their experiences are equally as valid, but again they are just less prevalent). If you, as a male(but women can too), want a space to talk about your fears of physical violence there is no doubt a performance on this channel that provides you with such a space.
Commenting about mens struggle with physical violence on a video about sexual violence feels a lot like youre saying 'yeah that sucks but look at me'
Im sorry if thats sounds rude or blunt, I honestly do see and appreciate where youre coming from, I just feel like this isn't the right place to be changing the subject...
Misha Kroon Feelings are not an excuse to be a bigot. I grew up in a community where gipsies were violent thugs, robbed and threatened people with knives, and so on.
No matter what my experience was, no matter what feelings I developed, I need to grow up, avoid making generalizations and judge people by their own character, not by my prejudices.
A woman being afraid of men as potential rapists is a bigot BECAUSE of her feelings.
Yay, Blythe is my favorite! So happy to see another poem, she's amazing.
FUCK MY MIND IS BLOWN THE POWER THIS HOLDS
There was a day when my family whent 5 doors down the road to a friends house. I wanted to leave early, I needed an early night so I could get up early for work the next day, I tried to leave and my dad told me no. I couldn't walk 5 houses back to my bed on my own, at the age of 17 I was walked home by my 14 year old brother and his friend. Both of whom have harassed girls at parties and in the street. My dad trusted my 14 year old brother to walk me home and walk back on his own. But he did not trust his 17 year old daughter to walk 5 doors down alone
I’ve never heard a poem I relate to so much, I’m only 12 and already I’ve been catcalled, already I’m a passionate feminist, already it’s so exhausting that some days I just want to give up and let the guys take over - I won’t though - this poem embodies everything I want to say but can’t find the words for - thank you.
I'm both relieved and outraged she called out the elephant in the room in my head. This is a really a uncomfortable, stomach-ache inducing poem. It gave me a case of those hot angry tears I get when I can't help in a situation. I normally get a feeling of resignation afterwards and can't wait for this life to end so I never have to hold myself accountable for looking the other way anymore but this poem turned my usual cowardliness on its head. It really made me face the consequences of being silent, and honestly, keeping the peace has never been worth the nagging guilt and sudden headache I feel afterwards. It isn't entirely our fault, but silent feminists might play an unintentional role in the reasons why they say it'd take 100 years to reach global gender equality.
the last two lines in this poem speak pure truth.
I didn’t realised the “text me when you get” so they know there safe, I’ve had my brother tell me to text him to make sure I got home safely also I’ve had a girl that I just met to text her when I get home to make sure I’m safe but nobody told him
AHHH love this poem so much ohmygod I was excited as soon as I saw it pop up because I remember really liking her last poem about eating disorders. Well done and so powerfully worded
I always enjoy the emotion behind these poems even if I don't fully agree with their assertions.
Very powerful stuff.
'He said "You think you can take over the world?" And I said "No, I just want to see it"' 🙏🏻👏🏻
I literally love all of her work. I hope that Blythe reads the comments on her poetry to see how wonderful it is
Blythe is amazing! ♡♡
Amazing.
Your voice is amazing & every poem brings me to tears.
This is so powerful❤❤
Love the entire poem a wee bit too much and can't stop listening to it.
Yes!!! We always tell our friends when we are home safe.
“Is silence not an act of violence too?” Is tattooed across my forearms because I never want to forget and I want other people to know.
"There are days I want people to like me more than I want to change the world"
This line is so honest.
I consider myself very lucky, as I grew up surrounded by my brothers (and father) who never treated me as though my gender made me different. They taught me how to fight and how to defend myself - I knew all the swear words when I was four and they showed my that man spreading is considered rude by our mother, but if a male is doing it to me they told me I should do it back. They never once let their friends exclude me out of games and they never told me “you’re just a girl”. While our neighbours called me “unladylike”, they were showing me how to be stronger than any man who tries to take part of me.
Their respect for women comes from our father - who worships the ground our mum walks on. He knows if it was not for her, then he would not be here. This is a fact. For his knowledge, and my brothers respect, I am a grateful. Their daughters will grow up knowing that they are worthy of taking up space, worthy of being whole.
This is the best I’ve seen in a while. All the references were recent and relatable which really woke me up. I LOVE this
Blythe is my favorite poet ever!!!!!
Woah that was an amazing poem.
honestly Blythe is my role model she is so sincere and uses the imagery and gets so
heated reciting poetry
“There are days I want people to like me more than I want to change the world”
I didn't realize how important feminism was for today, sadly. I watched this poem multiple times and never full grasped it, until now.
The last line hit it home. It tied so perfectly together
damn that last line
mic drop af
My favorite poem on this channel deserves more recognition xxxxx