[ R E A C H ]

I am my own man

I've just had a thought

Why do I have to be emotionally limited to be a ‘real man’?

Why do my long eyelashes, round face, and pink cheeks make me weak?

Why do the clothes I wear and the way I walk mark me as a social pariah?

What is it that makes me anything less than a man?

Is it my stuffed animals, my willingness to wear makeup, my haircut, or my clothing?

Is it my distaste for sports and my soft way of speaking that make me inherently feminine?

Is it because I am willing to show fear to the people that count on me?

Is it because I am not ashamed to let myself cry?

Is it, perhaps, that I can't produce testosterone naturally?

What defines a man
And what defines a woman.

I don't understand why I am called a sissy when I am afraid.
Why I am a flower boy when I wear pastel colors, why I am called disgusting for being the way that I am.

What defines us.
What, pray tell, defines you?

A man should not be ashamed to cry when things get bad, tears are human.

A boy should not be shunned for wanting to wear a skirt or dress, clothing is fabric.

A man shouldn't be forced to feign constant control, mistakes help you improve, they push you forward, they make you learn.

I am the writer and the subject of my life's story

I am not defined by anyone else's definition of what a man is because I am my own person.

I am my own man.