Feminist Song
City Warrior: Embracing Feminism in the Urban Jungle
Lyrics
When you ask me if Im a feminist
Expressing affirmation as a feminist, rejecting powerlessness and loneliness.
I say to hell with powerlessness, to hell with loneliness
Rejecting societal attitudes putting women down, advocating against oppression.
Damn all those people putting women down
Criticizing those who demean women and their contributions.
Yes there are women in positions of power
Acknowledging women in powerful positions but highlighting those still in difficult circumstances.
But so many more in chains in drudgery
Emphasizing the prevalence of women facing challenges, including abuse and exploitation.
Raped abused undermined undervalued
Listing the harsh experiences women endure: rape, abuse, undermining, undervaluation.
Written out of history
Pointing out the erasure of women from historical records.
So when you ask me if I'm a feminist
Reaffirming feminist identity in the face of adversity.
I say why the hell would I not be
Questioning the logic of not identifying as a feminist given the ongoing challenges.
I'm a city girl Im a warrior
Asserting a strong identity as a city girl and warrior, shaped by urban life.
I'm a city girl I'm a warrior
-The city made me this way
Attributing the personality to the city environment.
I'm a drunkard I'm political
Describing various facets: drunkard, political, contagious, analytical.
I'm contagious I'm analytical
-And sometimes I'm a pushover
Acknowledging vulnerability at times, being a pushover.
When you ask me if Im angry
Responding to inquiries about anger, highlighting a silent, internal struggle.
I say I don't go ranting in post offices
Rejecting overt expressions of anger, preferring silent resistance.
or point my gun out of my bedroom window at strangers
-I just walk along the street quietly imploding inside my own head
-So when you ask me if Im angry
Questioning the notion of not feeling anger given the existing challenges.
I say why the hell would I not be
Reiterating the city girl identity, incorporating different qualities.
I'm a city girl I am warrior
-I'm a city girl I'm a warrior
-The city made me this way
-I'm a drunkard I'm political
-I'm contagious I'm analytical
-And sometimes I'm a pushover
Acknowledging occasional vulnerability as a pushover.
Im a fighter I'm a believer
Expressing diverse roles: fighter, believer, mother, cleaner, artist, belonging to someone.
Im a mother Im a cleaner
-I'm an artist and I'm yours
-When you ask me if Im happy
-I say when a child laughs, when the sun shines, when the wind is in my face
-When I see a simple act of kindness, when you hold my hand
-And oh yes, when the drugs kick in
-Sometimes especially when the drugs kick in
-Im a city girl Im a warrior
-I'm a city girl I'm a warrior
-The city made me this way
-I'm a drunkard I'm political
-I'm contagious I'm analytical
-And sometimes I'm a pushover
-Im a fighter I'm a believer
-Im a mother Im a cleaner
-I'm an artist and I'm yours
-We're city girls etc
Concluding with a collective identity of city girls.
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