Towards a New Feminist Identity

(Partly adapted from a poem in the “Analytical MONTHLY REVIEW’ titled “The Secret Of Being A Woman”)

Everybody realizes that ‘sex’ is a biological identity…
We only have to attend a biology class,
To realize the truth of the above statement…

Everybody realizes that gender is a social identity…
We only have to see the page 3 columns in fashionable magazines,
That are exclusively for “Him” or “Her”,
To realize the truth of the above statement…

Everybody realizes that gender is an economic identity…
We only have to see the commodification of women,
In the oldest profession in the world – prostitution,
And the sexual division of labour,
To realize the truth of the above statement…

The problem starts,
When gender is realized,
As a Political identity…

When a woman starts realizing that,
She being a woman,
Has got nothing to due with Biology,
But rather,
Is something to due with Sociology,
Because she is not born as a woman,
But through countless taboos and sanctions,
She is made into a woman…..

When a woman starts realizing that,
The ethereal orange flavoured perfume,
That so very nicely adorns her skin,
May be made by the same corporation,
That manufactures chemical weapons…

When a woman starts realizing that,
Her worth is not something,
That is decided by her beauty…..
And more so,
Her conception of her own beauty,
Is not a simple manifestation of her sense of aesthetics,
But is something that is increasingly decided,
By an alien and commercial cosmetics industry….

When a woman starts realizing that,
Her own sexuality,
Can also be made by a patriarchal society,
Into an instrument,
For her own oppression…

When a woman starts realizing that,
All through history and up till today,
That the feudal institution of the “Family”,
Represents the most structured origin and basis,
For her continual sub-ordination.….

When a woman starts realizing that,
That she cannot hope to realize her Identity
By winning Beauty pageants,
And by strutting in Fashion parades,
And by stressing the finer aspects of her ‘Feminity’,
But only by,
Affirming the deeper aspects of her innate Humanity…

When she realizes all these things,
She will cease to be a woman in herself,
And will truly become,
A real woman for herself
And will realize her identity…