Why will no one take the lead?

No one wants to take the lead, 

Our project sits in ruins,

And still,

No one wants to take the lead.

No one wants to take the lead

because it seems far away,

because it seems that time is no object,

because it seems too difficult.

No one wants to take the lead

because the teacher doesn't care,

because the grades don't care,

because the class doesn't care.

No one wants to take the lead

because someone else will do it.

Excuses pile up

just like the project piles

on the floor

of broken dreams.

Why will no one take the lead?

Because of broken dreams,

because of norms and constraints,

because of fear.

Four girls,

one guy,

they fear.

He will do it,

let him do it,

let him speak,

let him take the lead.

Four girls,

one guy,

she fears.

Let him speak,

let him direct,

let him guide

let him command.

Why will no one take the lead?

Let him take the lead

because he is male,

No.

Not because he is male.

Because 

she

fears.

She fears speaking up,

she fears speaking out,

she fears using her voice

Because of broken dreams

because of the past

because of precedent,

she fears.

Why will no one take the lead?

She screams it into the void at night,

silent and soundless

just like her voice,

She won't.

She won't

because she fears,

because she knows,

because she

fears

knows

fears

knows

the silencing

and the judging

and the whispers

and the stares.

Why will no one take the lead?

Be assertive, they say,

Take your rights, they say,

Use your voice, they say,

but

they

lie.

They say

no voice, no opinion,

no voice, no rights,

no voice, no sound

but when she chooses,

when she speaks,

They

shut

her

off.

Why will no one take the lead?

They tell her,

too assertive

too loud

too much

for the men to handle,

for the men to take,

for the men to hear.

She takes away their opportunities,

takes away their voice,

takes away their platforms.

Why will no one take the lead?

She threatens them,

threatens their power,

threatens what they think they have,

She threatens the careful presentation,

the constructed cage,

the gilded walls of lies.

Why will no one take the lead?

When she speaks,

her voice is like rivers,

like oceans,

that paint.

They paint worlds,

they paint futures,

they paint new life.

But they tell her,

To pull her skirt down,

stop picking fights,

and for heaven's sake,

Let

the men

have their moment.

Why will no one take the lead?

But what if no man wants it,

what if no man will speak,

what if no man is credible,

she asks, she screams, she cries, she pleads.

Speak

silence

Speak

silence

Speak

silence

Back and forth

the rhythms,

they toss like waves on a storm-swept sea

of

lies

Why will no one take the lead?

Does she speak,

does she silence,

does she speak,

does she silence--

Why will no one take the lead?

I will,

she says in fear,

I will,

she says, still small.

I will,

she says, more loudly,

I will,

she says, timidly standing.

I will,

she says, more confident now,

I will,

she says, knowing the reasons why now.

Why will no one take the lead?

I will,

she says,

for the ones who have tried,

for the ones who have failed,

I will,

she says,

for the ones yet to come,

for the ones yet to be,

I will,

she says,

for the girls with no voice,

for the boys with no freedom,

I will,

she says,

I will,

I will.

Why will no one take the lead?

No.

I will

she will

we will.

Speak

silence

Speak

silence

Speak.

Why will no one take the lead?

It asks one more time

and she answers it

with fear

with hope,

No, they will,

No, she will,

No, we will.

A Note from the Author

Inspired by a Speech and Debate piece I once heard entitled, "Debate Like a Girl," as well as Emma Watson's HeForShe speech for the United Nations, this poem was borne of the frustration that gender roles box us into, both women and men, from the perspective of a woman. 

The double standards have to end, and we have a right to speak on them in the hopes that one day, the next generation will not have to fight for what we have. If we want it, we have to be willing to fight for it in every way possible, and we have to be willing to fight for it together. To quote Emma Watson, "If not me, who? If not now, when?" 

This is not a woman's fight. This is not a man's fight. It is humanity's fight to restore, as much as it can, what was broken in the Garden of Eden centuries ago. Will we ever find our way back to perfection? Absolutely not. We are flawed human beings. Sin nature is inevitable. But we are fully independent, intelligent human beings. 

God did not create us to degrade and silence each other on behalf of the gender He assigned us. He created us to thrive together, in harmony, in respect, using the gifts and talents that He gave us, not fulfilling manmade gender roles. Eve was made to be Adam's helpmate, yes, but she was also made to be his partner in life. Genesis 2:24 says that a man shall leave his father and mother and become one with his wife. Become one from two, half and half. Not 3/4 and 1/4. Half. 

Equal in respect, not in role.

Gender equality is biblical, and while we cannot restore it completely because we are not God and we are not perfect, we can strive toward a more ideal world within the bounds of biblical proof. 

(And if you would like to speak more on this with me, please feel free to send me a DM. I would love to talk more about this premise!)

Women should not fear taking the lead. Women should not fear speaking up on their own behalves. Women should not fear using their voices to advocate for themselves.

Likewise, men should not fear backing down. Men should not fear uncertainty. Men should not fear their own silence.

We have formed these gender roles, forcing quiet men into dominant roles and assertive women into submissive roles. This is not what many of us want, yet this is what manages to persist. Stemming from it, we see men and women both critiqued for using the gifts that God gave them, unable to fulfill the purpose for which He formed them.

It is up to us to work together to create the world we want to see.

Will you take the lead?