Paola is a member of the NYCLU’s Teen Activist Project
This weekend I will join thousands of New Yorkers marching for women.
I march to be a part of something larger than myself — to join a movement started by women like me and to feel a sense of community, love, and acceptance.
I march so those who have hoarded power for too long will realize that we will not accept the fear and self-loathing they have inflicted on us.
I march so everyone knows I am proud of being a woman--a Latina woman--even though, when my adoptive parents brought me to the United States from the Dominican Republic as a 6-year-old, they taught me that I had to forget my identity and assimilate to be successful. The culture they expected me to absorb taught me that I was less valuable because I was a woman, that my curls and curves were something to feel ashamed of and to straighten out, and that my accent and native language were something to hide.
I didn’t meet women who embraced their curls, their curves, and their identities until 2018, my junior year of high school. My friends’ example pushed me to think differently about myself. I remember talking to them while standing in front of the mirror, looking at my curls and my skin, and listening to my voice as it danced between languages. I felt proud for the first time.
I stopped feeling ashamed and realized the forces that have shaped my life only give me strength. It’s a blessing to be a part of the female community, the immigrant community, and the foster care community because these experiences allowed me to discover and demonstrate my resolve, independence, and leadership abilities. I am no longer someone who will hide her identity to please others.
By marching, I hope to pass on my message of courage and strength. I hope my actions and my voice will encourage young girls to embrace their ethnic curls and their culture. I hope I will help them question the validity of the messages we hear that tell us assimilation is the only way to get ahead.
This weekend I will march with my curls out and my accented voice loud. I hope girls around me will see strength and confident beauty and that I can help spread the culture of self-acceptance and love cultivated by strong women before me.
Why I’m Marching in the Women’s March
Related content
The Equality Amendment
May 6, 2022
Now is the Time for Universal Child Care in NY
February 9, 2022The Forces Against Progress are Gathering. New York Must Lead the...
February 2, 2022