ultimately there is no female or male, only Being.
I came into the world
fast and fierce.
So quick, my shoulders got stuck
and they had to do the McRoberts maneuver
so I could
squeeze
out
of my mommy.
I took my first steps at 8 months old,
began running shortly after that,
and haven’t stopped yet.
In preschool,
when I was star of the week,
I brought brown brown baby
AND my light saber to share.
When I was three,
I told everyone to call me Jack
but I also liked the name Alexia.
By the time I was five,
I refused to wear anything in the girls section.
Booty shorts, crop tops and sparkles everywhere
were just
not
my
thing.
My mom finally bought me
basketball shorts,
comfortable tees
and Nike or Curry shoes.
I’ve always loved playing with the boys
because I love sports.
For some reason,
if you have friends that are boys,
some adults think that makes you boyfriend & girlfriend.
Pssst, I’m in second grade,
that is really shameful.
My dad never called me his little princess.
I don’t think it was a conscious choice.
He has a way of seeing people
and it was like,
he
sees
me.
I’m more of a super hero
or warrior
or ninja.
In first grade,
I played basketball in a league
and it drove my mom crazy
because sometimes our all girl team
had to play an all boy team.
Now girls,
can ball.
I can dribble down the court and get a lay up.
One time I shot a turnaround fade away,
swoosh,
and I’m pretty good at defense.
But the teams were not evenly balanced on a skill level
and our team would get demolished.
My mom said, Why don’t they make the league co-ed?
Right away the other moms said, Oh, the boys won’t pass to girls.
My mom’s facial expression in response was hilarious.
I know she was mad.
She said, They better learn.
My brother is older and his team was co-ed.
The fiercest girl on his team was the smallest.
She had no fear.
And the tallest, strongest girl on his team was snatching all the rebounds.
My dad said she just needed to work on her shot.
I pretty much only play with boys at recess.
My best friends are boys
and they include me and pass the ball to me.
One time, my friend laughed at me
when I was learning how to play kick back,
but now I can kick the ball further and higher than him.
I just never give up when I want to learn something.
All of these boys play with me at school
and my brother plays with girls on his team.
So, why do mothers think boys won’t pass to girls?
Why don’t they teach them to pass to girls and include girls?
I sometimes see those bumper stickers, “Boy Mom.”
People think boys and girls are so different
and treat us differently,
but ultimately there is no female or male,
only Being.
It’s kind of like how my mom tries to explain that
there is no Black or white race,
but people are treated differently
because of their race.
Boys and girls can be liberated from their gender
if parents would just get out of the way
and let us
Be.
Beautiful!