Slam Poet Blythe Baird Has a Powerful Message About Rape Culture All Women Need to Hear

Blythe Baird is 18 years old. This is her Tumblr. 

In her poem "Pocket-Sized Feminism," Baird critiques rape culture — which, as she conveys, is no different from the culture in which young women grow up. 

Her message to women? Speak up. Because remaining silent is criminal. 

In her poem, Baird describes a party. 

At the party, she is, like so many women, akin to wallpaper. She monitors the scene before her as a passive observer. 

It's a sea of "rape jokes snap backs and styrofoam cups," she says. And this infuriates her.  

When should she speak out? And how? And to whom? 

She mulls over these questions, and describes how uncomfortable they make her. 

But more important than feeling awkward, she says, is tackling injustice. And speaking up about assault is how to do that.

"I'm ashamed of keeping my feminism in my pocket until it is convenient not to — like at poetry slams or women's studies classes. ... How am I to forgive myself for doing nothing in the mouth of trauma? Is silence not an act of violence too?" 

So what should women do?

Speak openly and honestly about feminism. Call attention to the injustice of assault. 

And most importantly, keep it far away from the depths of your pocket.