The Power Of Respect

ByProject Respect Team 2015 / 04 / 02

By Laura, age 16

You try and convince me I am nothing, just a worthless ‘thing’ to be toyed with. You label me in order to have control over me, but your words cannot cage me. I will not be beaten down with this torment I do not deserve. I am not yours to treat as you please, your lies and rumors will not haunt me. I am strong, my power is inner and I am not as

pathetic as you think. I walk with my head high, for I am more then your labels and stereotypes. I am not afraid to stand up for myself; I have pride in who I am. I am not dirty, empty or alone. You cannot hurt me so easily. My happiness has nothing to do with your approval or acceptance of me. I am who I am and you will not change me. I am a person, worthy of love, life and respect. Your judgments mean nothing to me. I am proud and there is nothing you can say that can make me ashamed of who I am. You cannot defeat my spirit, your words can only make me stronger. My ideals, dreams and truths are mine and no one else’s. I do not push my beliefs on others, but I stand up for my rights. I cannot be categorized, for I am unique. I have respect for myself and the people around me. The power you believe you have is fake; you cannot take power from me. To have power, you must first have respect.

Project Respect Team

Project Respect brings together youth and adults to create awareness and dialogue about sexualized violence by encouraging critical thinking about root causes such as gender expectations and stereotypes, systems of power, and the ongoing colonization of the lands and systems we live in.

Contribution

Life

ByProject Respect Team 2015 / 04 / 02

By Jessie, age 17 The voices harsh and foreign eat away at my being. SLUT, WHORE, BITCH. Why? Why am I being called these names? Is it me? It must be. It’s all my fault. This dialogue burns through my mind. The thought that maybe this is all I am. It feels as though my…

Contribution

Lost

ByProject Respect Team 2015 / 04 / 02

by Ling Who is the girl crying in the rain? Why is she crying? Why is there confusion in her eyes? Oh…I know who she is. She is another me, The fragile, insecure me-a follower I’m shivering in the cruel reality Alien voices penetrating like needles Telling me what to do Imply, As long as…

Contribution

I Am Only Myself

ByProject Respect Team 2015 / 04 / 02

By Kim, age 17 I am only myself, my own person, a completely unique individual. I am nobody’s pawn to play with as they like, nobody’s puppet to control however they choose. I am worthy of respect, love and kindness just for who I am. I do not have to give my body in order…

Contribution

Words To The Beat – by Arithmetic

ByProject Respect Team 2015 / 04 / 02

words to the beat by arithmetic (aka Brandon, age 17) time to rip it can’t get timed respect crew pushes it to the limit. why do we say this is gay? why do we say this guy’s a fag? labels that could scar someone for life and rip them out of the light. I’m as…

rainbow flag with the medicine wheel in the middle (quartered into colours: black, white, yellow, and red)

Contribution | Stuff | Two-Spirit | Youth

Two spirits, one body: A short narrative of a (short) native queer

ByDraco Recalma 2015 / 08 / 17

It’s true, men and women had and do have traditional roles in Indigenous cultures (if you have a problem with that, remember that the violent patriarchy was a construct of the colonizers). It is also true but not widely known, that before colonization, people who were queer and/or transgender were revered in most Indigenous cultures. There…