Help me find the rest of this pro-woman poem?

August 29, 2008 5:16 AM

Help me find the rest of this poem: "to be a woman/ you don't have to put on lipstick/ or wear makeup"....

I've googled variations on those phrases, but can't find it. I read it in 5th grade English and have no recollection of where it came from (whether it was an anthology, a particular poet, or what). I want the rest of it! I tried to contact the former teacher who made that poem part of her lesson plan, but she's since moved on to business school and I can't track her down. I don't know if those phrases are the exact wordings, but I'm pretty sure that's how it starts, and I can't find it anywhere. Any thoughts?

posted by potatopeople to writing & language (3 comments total)

Could it be from "Practicing To Be A Woman" by Rochelle Ratner ...? I can't find the text of the poem online, sadly.
posted by VioletU at 8:39 AM on August 29, 2008

Way off from what you remember, but very famous: it's not Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou, is it?
posted by emyd at 3:20 PM on August 29, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

emyd, nope, that's not it, sadly, but I do love that poem, thank you for sharing it with me. :) and Violet, I haven't been able to track down the whole Ratner piece, but that doesn't appear to be it, either. Oh well, I tried :\
posted by potatopeople at 7:44 AM on August 30, 2008