women and gender studies?

summer is near
and job offers are nowhere

i often wonder
what the hell i am doing
i am knee high in papers
i have not seen my desk in months
(it is buried under
articles, pamphlets and books...
oh, the books)
i am trying to reread the same sentence 5 times over
because it is that radical
to my poor over-worked mind
the dog is drinking out of the toilet (again)
i want nothing more than a cookie and a soy latte
but i am confined
to these damn academics who will not stop
shouting stereotypes at me.

i almost blame myself
who picks a degree in
women's and gender studies?
it's highly misunderstood
and yet.
i hear the news of yet another missing aboriginal woman
i hear the news of a lesbian being excluded from her high school prom
i hear the news that abstinence-only education has just been re-funded
i hear the news that abortions are becoming harder and harder to get
i read the story of a woman who has been brutally beaten by her husband
since the day they married
but she is stuck
it must be her fault.
or so the system would have you believe.

and then i wonder....
who the hell wouldn't pick a degree in women's and gender studies?

frustration? yes.
determination? always.
confusion? around the clock.
clarity? pending.