An Affirmation of My Personhood

arriannaplaney, , , , , , , ,

I am irreducibly human.
I am more than the hands that produce, more than the body that functions.
I am more than the systemic constructions of my sex and race.
I am more than the atomized individual that society makes me out to be.
I am more than the voice denied, the body objectified, the soul belittled.
I am not a nameless, faceless entity who can be stripped of my personhood and agency.
I am God’s beloved creation.

[originally posted here]

I wrote this in July 2009.  I was not aware of the profundity of the poem until now.  Re-reading it, I am inspired to paste it on my wall above my workdesk.

This poem is the epitome of womanism + Christianity.  Seriously.

Published by arriannaplaney

Alumna of the University of California, Berkeley & the University of Chicago, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Assistant Professor at the Department of Health Policy and Management in the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

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