For every woman

Loved this poem h/t MadPriest and RevRuth

For every woman who is tired of acting weak when she knows she is strong,
there is a man who is tired of appearing strong when he feels vulnerable;

For every woman who is tired of acting dumb,
there is a man who is burdened
with the constant expectation of ‘knowing everything’;

For every woman who is tired of being called ‘an emotional female’,
there is a man who is denied the right to weep and to be gentle;

For every woman who is called unfeminine when she competes,
there is a man for whom competition is the only way
to prove his masculinity;

For every woman who is tired of being a sex object,
there is a man who must worry about his potency;

For every woman who feels ‘tied down’ by her children,
there is a man who is denied the full pleasures of shared parenthood;

For every woman who is denied meaningful employment or equal pay,
there is a man who must bear full financial responsibility for another human being;

For every woman who was not taught the intricacies of an automobile,
there is a man who was not taught the satisfaction of cooking;

For every woman who takes a step toward her own liberation,
there is a man who finds the way to freedom has been made a little easier.

Nancy R Smith, Images: Women in Transition