Most men strip their humanity for the privilege of manhood
The privilege of numbness
Being numb to anything but anger is being a man
Bring yo ass here
You ain’t going nowhere!
Most men think this is a man’s world
And that women are flowers to be plucked
I love you so much
Most men see women as flowers
Most women are abused by men they know
It was a mistake
I’d never do anything to hurt you
Most women do not report abuse
Come on girl
You know you get out of line sometimes
Most men think being beautiful
Is all a woman can be
Sometimes you look unattractive…
Dehumanizing a woman sounds like a compliment
You couldn’t even blame me if I wanted to sleep with another girl
You need to let daddy come lay it down
And fix that attitude
I’d kill a dude if he ever tried to get with you
Girl, shut up and listen when I’m talking to you!
Most men don’t know how to own their tears
Most men don’t know how to own their pain
Most men smile like stretched rubber bands
And blame women when they snap
Most men can’t think
without someone else forcing ideas down their throat
Minds full of doubt.
Full of confusion.
Full of questions.
Who am I?
I am a man
I must prove this by all means
At all costs
Any one who threatens me is a threat to my manhood.
Women are a threat to my manhood.
Most women are most men’s weakness.
A real man knows that this doesn’t actually make him weak
This makes him vulnerable.
Vulnerability is okay.
A fool wouldn’t know the difference between the two.
Most men are fools.
Fools who think the women who make them vulnerable
are making them weak.
B–h, I’ll beat yo ass
Raise yo voice at me again if you want
I am not allowed tears or wailing screams in the middle of the night
I am not allowed to tell another a man he is beautiful without someone questioning my sexuality
I am not allowed to question my sexuality
I am not allowed to see the humanity in myself without being a target
If you are not a man then you are a target
Being a man is learning how to not be target practice
Being a man is having the privilege to not be target practice
Or maybe that’s being a coward
I’m redefining my masculinity
I am a man who knows that both a woman and a man created me
So I am half of my mother
Half of a woman
Most men are taught to beat the mother out of themselves
Women are not silent flowers
Waiting for their colors to be interpreted by men
These men…
who prove their strength by exerting their force….
These men
are the weakest of them all.
“Men’s Weakness” is an original poem created through Atlanta Word Works. Written by Joshua Stewart and Cole Jones-Ford. This poem focuses on violence against women and sheds light on the social construction of masculinity.
Related story: Josh and Cole performed this piece at the 2016 PADV Teen Summit.
