Strong Female Characters

Strong female characters are too few
shows the box office data
leading women who kick ass
outnumbered nine to one
by leading men who annoy
by virtue of their ubiquity
in so-called entertainment

Strong female characters are tropes
say others
the concept overused
due to feminism's mainstreaming
the concept inflated
merely a stock item
in so-called popular culture

Strong female characters are too few
in reality
when looking in the corner offices
of corporate crystal palaces
when looking in the administration
of academia's ivory towers
when looking for a name
of feminine nature on a science or technology panel

Strong female characters abound
in truth
when one looks hard
with new eyes in their own home
when observers consider differently
given humanity's origin
when one recognizes
without women's sacrifice and risk
facing inevitable pain and possible death
in birthing us
wiping our asses and noses
guiding our paths to adulthood

there'd be no characters at all.

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Copyright 2014 Femme Malheureuse
@ApparatusMag #NaPoMo 2014 Prompt 15
Graphic: Photo of mural depicting Isis via Wikipedia