Not My Responsibility

Do you know me?

Really know me?

You have opinions about my opinions

About my music

About my clothes

About my body

Some people hate what I wear

Some people praise it

Some people use it to shame others

Some people use it to shame me

But I feel you watching

Always

And nothing I do goes unseen

So while I feel your stares

Your disapproval

Or your sigh of relief

If I lived by them

I'd never be able to move

Would you like me to be smaller, weaker, softer, taller?

Would you like me to be quiet?

Do my shoulders provoke you? Does my chest?

Am I my stomach? My hips?

The body I was born with

Is it not what you wanted?

If I wear what is comfortable, I am not a woman

If I shed the layers, I'm a slut

Though you've never seen my body

You still judge it

And judge me for it

Why?

We make assumptions about people based on their size

We decide who they are

We decide what they're worth

If I wear more

If I wear less

Who decides what that makes me, what that means?

Is my value based only on your perception?

Or is your opinion of me not my responsibility?