The Up & Coming Magazine

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We’re stood in a group,

My friend and I.

Along with her boyfriend for the night, Jake.

And some other guy.

As Jake lights his cigarette,

A woman walks by.

She has pink hair and piercings,

Wearing a tank that reads,

“the patriarchy must die”.

Jake scoffs and exhales,

As random guy explains how much he hates feminists,

to which Jake wholeheartedly agrees.

That did not shock me,

I have learnt not to be surprised by the hatred of men towards women.

My friend shocked me,

When she nodded along with them.

When she had her own bank card,

Which she’d used to buy herself drinks all night,

Using money she worked for,

The workplace which she drives to.

When she could have a boyfriend for the night, called Jake,

And not face ridicule

Or ruin her chances of ever marrying.

When she was wearing jeans,

And not a full-length gown that covered every inch of her skin.

She may have turned her back on the women before her,

Who gave their lives to make such freedoms possible for her,

But hey! at least Jake picked her.

The poem is called 1928, referencing the Equal Franchise Act of 1928 (UK parliament). It was not until this act that women over 21 could vote and were finally given the same voting rights as men. This poem is a subtle dig at all the freedoms, such as having your own bank card and being able to drive and work, that feminism awarded us.

This was written by our contributing writer, Tianna Lagano.