Philadelphia 1876. 

Susan B. Anthony takes the stage.

A gasp of surprise meets her.

I’m intrigued.

I had only heard mere stories of the woman.

Seeing her in person was surreal.

When she and her friends were kicked off the stage I found myself following many others around to the front of Independence hall to hear her speak

Watching, hearing her sing the praises of women, her displeasure of government.

It was too much

From under my horse hair beard, my tall hat, poorly fitting trousers and jacket. I begin to sweat

Watching her continue passionately defending the rights of women was mesmerizing.

My body begins to heat with something I know not of.

As she bashes the piece of paper that our country was founded on, my vision starts to double.

By the time she finishes I’m in awe, I start to try and clap then I remember where I am.

I am a woman, in mens clothes.

I must not be seen or recognized less I perish.

For I am a woman dressed as a man 

For I am a woman in a world controlled by men

For I am a woman desperate to feel what they feel, to see what they see

And I have

I have sat here today in the blazing sun and saw what men see

I looked through their very own eyes and what I see is no different than I

Is this really what life is?

Is it really just based on gender and how I look?

Am I really damned to eternal boredom and a life of displeasure because of my figure?

Am I really forbidden from taking in the most basic of human functions because of my figure?

Just because I have breasts does that mean I am not able to think like a man?

No more I say.

So through my pain and sorrow

Through the crisis of faith in the entire system of government I’ve been raised to believe is correct and Just.

I start to clap, to take off this hideous disguise and reveal to the men of this nation that there was an imposter in their midst and they were none the wiser.

As I raise my hands, preparing to clap, to break the patriarchy that has become our society, to prove to these women that they are not alone and there are women all over who want to say something but they cannot

For we are women in a man’s world 

So of course when I a woman go to do my part and try to fight along side my sisters

I collapse

My death goes unnoticed

They simply think I am a man who was overcome by what these women were saying and fated

So appalled by their words

It was only when I was rushed to the hospital did they find out

But it was too late

No one knew that I was a woman and my death was another victory for the patriarchy 

Nobody who knew who I was that day told a soul and I was to put to rest never achieving my dying purpose

Much like the great Susan B. Anthony herself