Sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity)
by Kristin Gallagher
I was born and they put me in pink. Sometimes yellow, never blue.
I had earrings punched in my ears before
I could hold my head up,
as if being confused for a baby boy was a grave offense.
In 1964, before I am born,
the U.S. House of Representatives debated the Civil Rights Act
and when it was suggested to add “sex” to the protected classes,
the men laughed.
Martha Griffiths (D-Michigan) stood up.
They stopped laughing, but sex was not added.
In 1970, Griffiths pushed
the Equal Rights Amendment
to extend federal legal protection on the basis of sex.
It didn’t pass then.
It didn’t pass in 1994
when I wore plaid jumpers to Catholic elementary school
and a white and gold cheerleading uniform and
my sisters and I choreographed dances to Whitney Houston songs
that we caught on the radio and recorded on the tape deck.
In 2002, a man brutally killed Alexandra Nicole “Ally” Zapp
at a rest stop in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.
In response, people wondered why she was using the bathroom at 3am.
I was 14 years old and wondered why she was being punished for peeing.
I grew up but was instructed to remain pink, soft and gauzy.
Magenta would not be polite.
I asked myself: how do I avoid becoming so diaphanous
that I can be waved away with ease?
Pink like labia in HD porn.
Have you ever had a man tap your clitoris repeatedly
and sit expectantly waiting for you to lose your mind in ecstasy?
Why is a woman’s mouth reduced to another hole to receive?
Am I a slut? Is it purely a numbers game?
I’d like to know exactly which fuck designates me as such.
In the meantime, here are some real numbers:
1 in 5 women in the US has been raped.
On the 4 train, I stare at an image of a frowning woman holding two oranges next to another
woman with two grapefruits and a grin. It is an ad for breast implants.
The MTA almost banned a period panty ad that featured grapefruit slices.
I guess it’s what’s underneath the fruit’s skin that is obscene.
A man on the same train thought the sway of the train car an excuse to grab me by the pussy.
This was before it became presidential.
I gave him an elbow in return.
I imagine he would have been angry at me if he found a dick instead.
The Act is rebirthed in 2013, the same year that
schools and places of business in my home state
ban yoga pants because they are too distracting to men.
I asked whether we better teach men how to concentrate
but I’m not sure anyone was listening.
I flipped off a guy who catcalled me from a dirty van that crawled along,
before I saw his badge.
He followed me home but sped away when I screamed at him.
I returned to my apartment and dog unscathed
because although I am pink, my privilege is white.
Venus Xtravaganza, Carla Leigh Salazar, Sonia Rescalvo Zafra, Amanda Milan,
Gwen Amber Rose Araujo, Nireah Johnson, Janice Roberts, Shelby Tracy Tom,
Gisberta Salce Júnior, Latisha King, Angie Zapata, Lateisha "Tiesh" Green,
Simmie Lewis Williams Jr., Victoria Carmen White, Dee Dee Pearson, Sweet Maria,
Carmen Guerrero, Islan Nettles, Kimberly Sody, Aniya Parker, Ty Underwood,
Erykah/Erika Tijerina, Kelly Stough, Kiki Fantroy, Bee Love Slate, Nikki Kuhnhausen
My friend is pregnant with a boy
She tells me she wants to raise him
not to be a predator
That cannot be easy, I think.
Last week, as the Act languished in Congress,
a SCOTUS decision held that the Civil Rights Act
protects LGBTQ employees from discrimination based on sex.
A win against the patriarchy.
Pink is not an easy color to wear.
A very deep commentary and examination of sex and sexuality in the USA.