I Am Not A Birthing Person

Poem by Hazel Appleyard

I Am Not A Birthing Person by Hazel Appleyard

Be kind, you said,
Just call us ‘she’,
Who will it hurt?
Just let us be. 

I agreed, at first,
Through kindness and grace,
But I did not consent,
To my womanhood erased. 

You call me things
Like cervix haver, vagina owner,
You demand that lesbians
Accept your ‘lady boner’ 

But I am not a ‘birthing person’,
And I am not a ‘chestfeeder’.
I’m not your ‘gestational carrier’,
Not your ‘surrogate’, not your ‘breeder’. 

You call me these things,
But want me as your ally,
Want ME to respect YOUR pronouns?
Well, I will not comply.

So back you go,
To your rightful MALE spaces,
We gave you a chance,
But you threw it in our faces. 

We are women, we are mothers,
Our words won’t be negated,
And we will not stand by
And see our rights obliterated.