when i first knew i was a feminist. by bowen

Genre: Lyric Essay

"i like frogs, and i'm a girl... i just don't like bugs, but not because i'm a girl" said cindy with a shrug of the shoulders.
"cool, cindy. right on," i said. "you're the most advanced girl in the 5th grade, even mora tuglowski thinks so, and she's supposed to be in 6th grade."

cindy smiled and put her ponytail in her mouth. we sat on the swings and looked around at all the rocks being thrown.

"hey, cindy."
"hey greg" she replied as greg weintraub approached our swinging legs. greg's shoes were untied in a way that read as 'i'm a rebel, i don't care.'
"so cindy, mike keibler said that you had a crush on me."
"i didn't say that! i just said i liked the stuff you draw on your desk. i like pokemon."
"girls don't like pokemon! you totally are, like, in love with me."
"No, i'm not."
"shut up, are too!"

"greg, cindy just appreciated your artistic renderings, it doesn't mean she wants to go steady," i said, backing up my friend. i knew cindy and cindy wasn't interested in greg weintraub. cindy was interested in biology and painting, she wanted to change the world, not chase after the shoelaces of some stupid boy.

"whatever. wanna go steady" he said, kicking at the dirt.
"yeah." cindy said with a hop from her swing.
"cool. do you like bugs? i've got a collection." he said showing her a keychain - a preserved exoskeleton of a dung beetle.
"yeah, i love bugs. once i found a walking stick bug and i named him henderson."

the two walked off in the direction of the jungle gym holding hands.

"a voice once stentorian is now meek and muffled." i said to myself with a shake of the head. "what would Judith Fetterley say?"

i spent the rest of that year swinging by myself pondering the gender binary in institutionalized gym classes.

the end.