So easy
Lose oneself
In self-hate
And self-harming.
Never realizing
Until later.
Societal barriers
Consciously erected
Falsely held protection.
Self-righteousness
Harming innocent people
Seeking help.
Maintaining a myth
Rigidly held definition
Of male/female.
Eleven years ago
Contacted Toronto crisis center
For abused women.
Intake process
Humoured
Like I didn't matter.
Hanging up
Ending that thread.
Drowning
In mental illness
And PTSD.
Doctor reads
Mental riot act
Seventy-two hour
Psych observation.
Somehow
Avoided this.
Little has changed
Past 11 years
For these crisis centers.
(Odd center
May help all
Cis/transwomen.
Exception
Not the rule.)
Fought tooth and nail
Against gender orientation
In Canada's criminal code
And Human Rights Act.
Why?
Gender Critical Feminists
View transwomen
Agents provocateur
Under cismale's control
Stealing rights earned.
Damage isn't limited
To those seeking help
Includes staff too.
Believing our presence
Revictimizes clients.
How do we prove
This is spurious
When denied
Chance to heal?
Or present unified front
For women's rights
In a growing hostile world.
Viewing all women
Second class citizens
To discriminate
Or abuse.
Therisa © 2019
Author’s note: The Gender Critical Feminists and the Conservative Senators failed to defeat the passage of C-16 (2016), during the 3rd and final reading of the Bill, which can into law, after Royal Assent, in June 19, 2017. The 7th time, that this type of legislation has been proposed in the House of Commons and Senate. In the previous attempts, this Bill has died for various precedicial reasons, by the govening party, at the time.
