Pride Month 2024
“AIN’T I A WOMAN”
Spoken word honoring Sojourner Truth and feminine power.
Dr. Tiffanie Victoria Jones
I think about the women who…
Use their God-given nurturing essence as homemakers to care for their husbands and rear children
And the women who use their God-given intellect to teach others and share knowledge with the world
And the women who use their leadership skills as bosses
Over people who challenge their leadership as bosses simply because they are women
And the women who pull double duty as homemaker and Ms. Boss, but secretly battle fatigue and
exhaustion while never letting them see her sweat
I think of the women who do not have the skills to be Ms. Boss, so they use “other skills” to be Ms. Boss
And the women who are pressured to use “other skills” in order to keep their jobs and please their boss
I think about the women who…
Are told by society that they are beautiful, but must be reminded by God that true beauty reflects His image
And the women who are told by society that how God created them is not beautiful enough, and they need
to cut this and nip that, and contour this, and tuck that… to be…something brand new
I think about the women who…
Bond with their babies and sustain life through milk-producing breasts
And those who have breasts that are too big that their backs ache incessantly
And the women who struggle to feel feminine because their breasts are “too” small, so they get breast
implants to live up to society’s standard of beauty placed upon them
I think about the little girl who anticipates developing into a woman, only to have one breast three sizes too
big
Those who must have their breasts – sources of sustenance and nurturance – removed because of cancer
And the women who get their breasts removed to prevent cancer
I think about the women who…
Multi-task throughout the day while her flower is flowing; for life is through the blood
And those who must cancel entire days because the fatigue caused from the loss of blood from their cycles
is almost unbearable
Whose cycles, which should last about a week, drone on and on for entire months
Whose cycles are so painful from the fibroids that develop
Who must alter their hormones and natural state and risk blood clots by using birth control to get any relief
from the pain
Who cannot enjoy fruitfulness with their mates due to horrible pain from their endometrium lining
Who must have their female organs removed because of diseases that attack their womanness
And afterward, who question if they are still women, to which I respond that God and the DNA He gave you
says “yes.”
I think about the women who…
Give birth – that’s it. They give birth.
Who endure nine long months of pregnancy, while altering their bodies forever to bring life into this world
The women who have been pregnant for nearly two years – those who have “Irish twins”
The women who give birth to three sets of twins within a span of four years
The women who, knowing they have a deceased baby in their uterus, must sit through an academic exam
because an uncompassionate professor cannot “break the rules” for her
The women who have undergone an abortion and the inconceivable guilt they face after having taken the
life of their own child, despite the world telling them it was their “right” to do so
The women who were forced to undergo an abortion after God called the baby home before they were able
to meet their child
Women who are placed on bed rest for months to help them prevent having a miscarriage
And the women who endure a few months of pregnancy only to suffer a miscarriage
The women who have miscarriage… after miscarriage… after miscarriage
The women who have miscarriage… after miscarriage… after miscarriage… and finally give birth only to be
told that this new baby will only live for one year
I think about the women who are committed to their sick baby’s fight to live – the baby they carried and
nurtured for nine long months after having multiple miscarriages
I think about the women who will never know the joy of nurturing and sustaining human life through
pregnancy because their womanly organs (or other diseased organs) won’t permit it
And the women whose men leave them because they cannot make him a father
The women who must trust another woman to carry their baby for them because their own wombs cannot
allow so
The women who trust another woman to carry their baby for them, only to have that woman become
attached to the child and change her mind
The women who adopt someone else’s baby to give that child a chance that he or she might not have had
otherwise
Those who must raise babies by themselves, though they did not make those babies by themselves
Must raise babies by themselves, putting their lives and goals on hold for almost two decades so their
children can contribute meaningfully to the world
Must raise babies by themselves, after God has called their loving mates home before he could get to know
his wonderful child
I think about the women who die while bringing life into this world
And the women who die shortly after bringing life into this world
I think about the women who…
Endure traditions and rites of passages to enter into womanhood, according to their cultures
Those who must have their womanly parts cut and then sewn and then re-opened and then re-sewn just so
that their husbands know for sure that he is the only one
And the women who risk their lives to flee this cultural practice of female genital mutilation or circumcision,
depending on who you ask
The women who cannot combat the physical strength of a man when their bodies are unwillingly taken for
his pleasure
And the girls whose tiny, closed parts are pried open by the girth of a full-grown man
I think about the women who…
Work endless hours to hone their skills in crafts that make them superior athletes…against other women
And who work endless hours to hone their skills in their crafts only to have a man with far greater strength
force athletic competition against him – because he knew he could not win against another man
The women who are silenced by men who demand to be called women, and steal our journeys and our
stories and our experiences and mock us by using our journeys and our stories and our experiences
against us
I think about the women who…
Were nurtured and loved by their daddies, and grandaddies, and brothers, and uncles, who have taught
them about daddies and grandaddies, and brothers, and uncles – about the ways of menfolk
I think about the women who are loved beautifully by their husbands and fiancés’ and boyfriends
I think about the women who are called virtuous and precious by God, for their prices are far above rubies
I think of the women who have gone before us, whose bodies lay in the earth for thousands of years, but
whose womanhood endures forever, as testified by their Maker, the Almighty God, and their DNA and their
bones and their chromosomes
I think about Ms. Sojourner Truth when she told the truth
Ain’t I a woman?
Music By David Hunte
Tiffanie Victoria Jones (PhD, LMSW) is a New Orleans native. She earned a BA in Mass Communication from Dillard University, an MSW from the University of Missouri at Columbia, and a PhD in Social Work from Howard University. A research methodologist, Dr. Jones has taught in both undergraduate and graduate schools, predominantly in the research sequence. She specializes in research design and data analysis. Dr. Jones has served as either the methodologist, advisor, or research consultant for over 100 Master’s theses and doctoral capstone projects, domestic and abroad. She is also the founder of CiL Research Consulting Group. Dr. Jones’ research centers primarily on psychosocial outcomes for special and vulnerable populations. In the classroom, she focuses on incorporating innovative teaching techniques to increase higher-order thinking skills, critical thinking skills, and engagement. Personally and most importantly, Dr. Jones loves God above everything and is a devoted born-again believer in the Lord, Jesus Christ. She also enjoys doing creative works, reading, trying out new restaurants, traveling, and getting beautifully crafted cakes for her birthday. You can read her series on gender ideology for The Journal of Free Black Thought here and find her podcast episode here.
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