Poet and writer Janne Robinson isn’t making apologies. Instead, she’s celebrating the bravery, self-confidence, resilience, stand-up-for-yourself attitude and ferociousness of women.
Robinson took her 2014 poem “This Is For The Women Who Don’t Give A F**k” to a live level with her new video.
F Bomb Warning!! The video is headed by Robinson, and features a total of 18 women reading her poem’s words. Kicking off with the poem’s first line (and title) “This is for the women who don’t give a f**k,” each woman recites Robinson’s words, immortalising the brilliance of strong females. “
The poem does more than touch on issues that are central to self-confidence, sexual independence and being a woman with no shame. Her writing shines a light on women who are sitting back shyly and apologising for their actions by putting the opposite behaviour in the forefront. She praises the fearlessness of, “The women who are first to get naked, howl at the moon and jump into the sea” while also making a statement on the often one-sided masculinized version of acceptable sexual behaviors and sexuality, “The women who know they aren’t sluts because they enjoy sex, but human beings with a healthy sexual appetite.“ Raise your hand if you’ve ever feared the big ‘s’ (i.e., slut) word when you’ve showed your sexual side?
Robinson doesn’t only focus on the more risqué topics, but also tackles the love, joy and passion that all women need to have in their lives – along with being successful and being a mum. Hailing the single mum as a superhero, Robinson writes,
“For all the superheroes – the single mums who work three jobs to make it. I salute your resilient, cape-flapping, ambitious selves.”
While reading the words on your laptop, tablet or that teeny tiny little mobile phone screen sure has an awesome impact, seeing real woman and hearing their voices speak up packs a punch that goes a step farther. It’s a call to action – not just to be your big, bad woman self, but to also surround yourself with women who feel the same. Ending her poem with, “These are the women I want around me,” Robinson points out that it’s not just enough to be fearless yourself. Take a look at the women around you, who they are and who they aspire to be. The poem begs the questions – do they inspire you and are these the people who you want as companions, support systems and role models?
For Robinson the answer is an obvious ‘yes’. In an interview with the Huffington Post, Robinson said, “The words that poured out into this poem, now video, are about all the women in my life who empower and inspire me. It’s not written about one woman – it is written about many.”
So what’s the take-home?
Take a closer look at what Robinson told HuffPo. The poem is, “written about many,” and not just one singular woman. Robinson isn’t calling for every woman to be a completely fearless fighter, parading her sexuality, making no excuses, balking at gender norms, tossing stereotypes and doing what they please 100 percent of the time. Instead, she has crafted a compilation of some of the most freeing ways that women can act. The poem salutes, “The women who swear like truckers,” and those, “who rock combat boots with frilly skirts,” but also spotlights, “Women like Gloria Steinem who, when she was told, “We want a writer, not a woman. Go home,” kept writing anyway.” From the on-the-surface ways that a woman can be her own person without bending to societies norms (such as swearing like a man or mixing seemingly masculine footwear with girly girl picks) to deep, life-changing, to your soul actions and ambition, the poem and subsequent video are reminders that no woman should feel put down – ever.
“This is for the women who seek relentless joy: the ones who know how to laugh with their whole souls.” Look at this line, and then take a deep, long look at your life. If you just smiled slyly and thought about the last time you laughed with your “whole soul” (and it wasn’t in another decade) – a big thumbs up to you. If not, read Robinson’s words. Now, read them again, and again, and again. Watch the video, hear the women and listen to them as if they’re speaking directly to you. Let go, be who you are and for f**k’s sake stop apologising!
