Melissa Lozada-Oliva - Like Totally Whatever

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Melissa Lozada-Oliva, performing at NPS 2015 in Oakland, CA.
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Button Poetry is committed to developing a coherent and effective system of production, distribution, promotion and fundraising for spoken word and performance poetry.
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[@texasrosee8631]

"It's like maybe, i only speak in questions because im so use to being cut off" WOW snaps all around.

[@texasrosee8631]

There's inconsiderate people who just cuts you off when your talking because THEY dont think you deserve to talk . I know i deserve to speak but other people might not think the same

[@crystalcook4451]

+Taylor Moore You can argue with someone after you get cut off but you can't stop someone from cutting you off. If someone starts talking over you, you're not going to be heard even if you continue speaking.

[@crystalcook4451]

+Taylor Moore It's not a way of thinking, it's reality. If I'm only talking to one person and they start talking over me, they're not listening. If it's in a group situation and one person starts talking over me, maybe neither of us would be heard, but if their goal is to silence me then they've succeeded, and there's no way to fight that except yelling, which would make me sound aggressive and people would call me crazy. And there's a difference in perception by others: men shouting to be heard over other men are seen as strong. Women shouting to be heard over men are seen as psychotic.

[@crystalcook4451]

The main thing I recognize is that you're not worth talking to, so have a nice life. I hope being a boring troll is fun for you.

[@crystalcook4451]

You're the one crying, try asking yourself that question. Or just get over yourself. I'm laughing at you, not crying.

[@omoizele]

I like (love) how the ending doesn't give way to the definitive, dramatic ending voice but falls back to the language choices that the poem defends. Smart choice. Good work.

[@vulpesursae4934]

+Omoizele Okoawo Oh my gosh, I love your poem "Raindrops"! Brought me and my friends to tears.

[@omoizele]

+TakenInChains “Riyn” 0o.o0 Oh thank you! :)

[@Jeannek4493]

I was thinking the same thing!!

[@tristanemmett4560]

I use words such as 'like', 'totally', and 'whatever' to buy myself the precious seconds I need to find the words that are going to stumble off my tongue next. They're not the most eloquent, but it's better than awkward pauses that, like this poet said, only give you the opportunity to be cut off.

[@gim5816]

They are also totally relevant in the English Language, so anyone who doesn't respect them have little to know knowledge about the English Language. I can say that because im actually studying the use of voiced and voiceless pauses, etc.

[@deficator750]

No one like it though.

[@naraposthumus8478]

😭💀

[@dagingerbreadman70]

Is it that difficult to think before you speak?

[@thelastcarriage6270]

@@dagingerbreadman70 well sorry we don't live up to your expectations but maybe if you had this much going on in your head if, if your mind was as amazing as this poets is then maybe you would need more time to think. We need to speak when we can and fill the space we have because who knows if it will last.

[@GUANTESOLO]

When a piece of art can ask critical questions and shine a new light on topics that so many people just take as truth-- that's why we do this. Thanks for this poem.

[@CDLatin]

+Congo Bongo hate. ...I'm pretty sure this is about people putting others down because of how they speak

[@CDLatin]

+Taylor Moore Not what this is about. She hates rude pretentious people who think they can tell her how to speak even after putting her down constantly. It seems like you are trying to make her look bad and I hate the implications you make.

[@CDLatin]

+Taylor Moore Haha. Okay. Maybe it isn't their business. Would they like to pay for an English and speech class? Maybe she is smart enough to realize that most people understand her BECAUSE she speaks like she does. It is offensive when people pretend they are better than anyone else because they speak properly. If you or anyone thinks less of someone because their English isn't immaculate then you need help-not them.

[@CDLatin]

+Taylor Moore And you eliminate the next sentence which explains a sentence worded in a moronic way on purpose because... you are incapable of having a normal conversation? If I were actually a moron telling me that would be a waste of time. If you have nothing to say to futher the conversation then you insult me, really? Grow up. For the sake of any poor kid who actually finds you smart. Someone might look up to you because you seem cocky and having something to back that up would be nice. Please, when you realize that attempting to put down some dude you don't know, and falling, is a waste of time then maybe we can further this conversation. Honestly, I get what you are saying but you seem incapable of stating what you believe without insults shoved into what could be civil discourse.

[@CDLatin]

+Taylor Moore "limited intelligence" That statement is what I mean. It is an insult worded so you can deny it later even though it doesn't really make sense considering the fact that knowledge and intelligence can be perpetual and exponential. Regardless, this conversation is doing nothing for me. Maybe I'm wrong but it seems to me that you are here strictly to put others down and that is not my goal. Again, if someone sounds stupid and you automatically assume they are then you need help. Not because I want the expectations of society to decrease but because I have reasonable expectations of anyone with a brain. I expect some sort of benefit of the doubt especially considering the astounding amount of people in America with terrible English.

[@gabs3466]

Her voice when she says "Cut.Off." Perfection.

[@kattyalish]

So powerful. I have been told that because I speak like a "ditzy girl," I am clearly unintelligent and unable to convey complex ideas. The way I use colloquial terms in everyday speech does not influence my intelligence. The feminine tone in my voice does not measure my depth of analysis. I'm extremely glad this poem articulated that.

[@daveboodakian]

I love this poem, she did an amazing job, and of course I can't help but be present to the irony of the whole thing. Here she is doing everything Taylor Mali is inviting people to do (speak with conviction, stand up for what you believe, be an authority) while also critiquing his work. Oh the complexity!

[@atomatopia1]

A great complex counterexample demonstrating how it’s not the wording that makes the statement. It’s the conviction.

[@Surfsailwaves]

A counterinterpretation: this is a good example of being aggressively inarticulate.

[@ellaphx]

A refreshing perspective for someone who does this, like, constantly. Sick of being told it makes me sound dumb or unconfident. It's just how I talk, get over it.

[@ellaphx]

Yeah, right-o.

[@sheyla70v3]

+justchillin508 for intellect minds who pride themselves on their ability to read the works of Shakespeare and Tolstoy, I expect these "Proper English" speaking people go know, like the many ways us humans can, you know, communicate. it's not that hard, to like, understand someone who, you know, like, speaks this way.

[@sheyla70v3]

I am not calling people who speak using "like, um, and you knows" intelligent simply because I can't vouch for that, but I am pointing out that these conservative intellectuals can easily deduce a sentence that uses an excessive amount of "likes, um, and you know". I'm trying to point out that these sentences aren't necessarily hafd to follow...

[@sheyla70v3]

Maybe not my best post, but my main point or at least what I was trying to get across is that it's not hard to follow a sentence that excessively uses filler words (like, um, totally, and you knows) Sorry for that clusterfuck of a sentence in my last post...

[@starofinanna]

+ellaphx It's amazing how people will troll around on the internet looking for another human being to degrade, and put down simply to inflate their own sense of self importance, and relevance, isn't it? That they're so willing to ignore regional dialects, slang, and colloquialisms in favour of simply branding someone stupid because it makes them feel better about their own pea-sized brains. That they find it easy to simply equate one's verbal expressions with their intelligence levels, as if there aren't people with handicaps and speech impediments with genius level IQs in the world. I think I'm most impressed, however, with their ability to distance emotional intelligence from intellectual intelligence - as if the two are somehow separable, as if they aren't intrinsically entwined. Quite frankly, I'll take a kind person over a smart one any day of the week. It doesn't matter if you can quote Chaucer if no one can tolerate your presence.

[@giannamarie27]

i watched this for the first time when i was 16 years old and im 21 and still watch it when i feel a little less than whole. thank you.

[@marinamaux]

me too.

[@stellaluna4658]

Me as well.

[@danielleb.4771]

“Because you can’t just challenge authority. You gotta take it to the mall, too!! Teach it to do the ‘bend and snap’, paint its nails, braid its hair, and tell it that it looks like, hm, *really* good today!” I don’t know why but this verse has struck me the most. Girls don’t just go up against other people like most men do. We are usually kind, nice, soft, and yes “fake” some (a lot of) times in order to bring someone else down and that’s why a lot of men call women backstabbers. And yes, you can’t just challenge authority, you gotta stab in the back. I am in awe of this poem.

[@victoriaac77]

"...and it's like maybe I'm always speaking in questions because I'm so used to being cut off." Speaking truth, well deserved applause and cheers from the crowd.

[@cpoterry]

I...I can't even...*throws down bowl of oatmeal and claps furiously* I know the world's not lost when learning minds like this are still growing strong; even far far away.

[@rawringdino13]

I see your comments on almost every poetry video and they make my day so much better

[@cpoterry]

Thank you so so so much, hearing that really means a lot to me. haha I do loves me some poetry and it's so great to be able to connect with others who do as well.

[@cpoterry]

I do try to give something stable haha.

[@RandomOrder]

+Carlos T I find it painful. How do you manage?

[@amalkhateeb6813]

what kind of oatmeal was it?

[@seadawg93]

I LOVE THIS! I heard the Taylor Mali poem years ago, and at the time I just accepted it, but have thought back many times to it and thought that the forms of communication that he mocked are often more authentic than those he proposes. This is incredible.

[@stephaniesantos78]

stop saying she wrongfully "made" this a feminist issue. the criticism of uptalk has been studied in linguistic circles for years now. she didn't make an issue out of it, it is an issue the same way AAVE is criticized as if it doesn't have roots.

[@dehartfamily3091]

Thank you

[@michellevilarino4444]

I literally just had a lecture at Princeton about the criticism of uptalk and AAVE

[@yasminsoto9453]

I do think this is a very strong poem and an absolute truth. Nevertheless, I don't like the way she took it personal over Taylor Mali's poem, which in my opinion is also very strong and the absolute truth. As if his perspective was nothing but a first man's problem and hers the voice of all women in earth.

[@colbstinator]

It's not a feminist issue and still isn't after she tried to make it one. Taylor Mali made that poem about PEOPLE speaking without conviction, not just women, so sure, women get cut off (not near as much as they used to mind you) and so she could've made a poem about that, but she intended to make this poem as a backlash to Taylor Mali's "Like Totally Whatever You Know", which had nothing to do with feminism and was not directed toward solely women.

[@catstrawford]

Poetry is rooted in subjectivity. She's a woman, this is her subjectivity shining through.

[@rhiannonmcgavin]

GAWD I LOVE HERRR

[@Annej-isnt-gomez]

I love you Smile is my favorite poem

[@skylarwright7261]

Oh my gosh! I love your work too.

[@monique3353]

agreed

[@emilypoirier8951]

+TheGeekyBlonde I love you

[@corysmith3447]

Too bad feminism gets way more hate than likes when you youtube that word.. a new age of conservatism rationalism against man bashing is charging

[@UghLauren]

gave this video a "like"

[@UghLauren]

+Tokhaar Gol I liked a KZbin video and in response, you declare a holocaust on white men. Hmm. Okay.

[@Gabrielle5th]

witty af hahahaha

[@corysmith3447]

you do realize this is the reason why trump won, just youtube the word feminism and you see how its all wrong today in 30 seconds.

[@hihiz432]

cory smith No, you see a bunch of idiots that don't understand feminism and think misandrist=feminist.

[@skhprwdm]

i can't get enough of this poem. it is absolutely amazing, and the oet is gorgeous in her rendition of it. love it!

[@jaysaysnope]

This is really, really true. I often find myself saying "like" or "um" just so people (usually guys) don't assume I've finished speaking.

[@amesailor]

Why don't you just finish the thought?

[@autumnsprite]

@@amesailor bc sometimes you have to take a moment and think about what you want to say

[@amesailor]

@@autumnsprite I assume people do that BEFORE they start speaking. If you're making stuff up on the fly, then how firmly do you believe it or how much have you thought about it before? I mean, I get it, but if you're having a truly meaningful conversation, the other person will let you complete your thought.

[@autumnsprite]

@@amesailor I mean yeah, but that generally doesn't happen in casual conversation (where most fillers occur)

[@blacklivesorblackvotes2985]

@@amesailor “I assume people do that before they start speaking” thinking about what you’re saying and actually executing it are two different things dude. Stop being condescending. Also, newsflash, not everyone can simply put their thoughts into words as quickly, not because they have bad vocabulary, but because like I said, thinking it and saying are two different things. Why do you think “that sounded better in my head” is a thing? Good lord. Stop being so narrow minded for 5 seconds. It’s not making stuff up on the fly. Jesus Christ you need to open that head of yours. “The other person will let you have a complete thought” not always. Dude, you’re too ignorant for this. Just stop. You’re trying way too hard to invalidate the point. I’ve seen people get cut off plenty of times even if they weren’t saying “like” as much. Stop projecting. Your experiences are not everyone else’s.

[@miagengr]

"And maybe its like i speak in questions because im so used to being cut off." Truer words were never spoken. when i was in a program and we had to describe ourselves they brought it up after that every time i said a sentence it sounded like i was questioning what i was saying. And that line basically explains why.

[@kingmespeaks6839]

+Genesis Reyes , This is so true. I was a bit of a wreck at times when I was younger because I was never able to speak up without someone trying to cut me off. This poem is just amazing and describes those feelings perfectly.

[@daisy_elle_]

Mia G ч

[@LovingSoul61]

I loved Taylor's poem because as a psychology student, I like the idea of people actively trying speak with confidence. But I honestly like this more because there's a human context that the older generation, and men and white people often like to remove from others to make themselves feel superior and it's fucked up. Both great food for thought. This though- way more filling.

[@LovingSoul61]

;)

[@dibade1961]

she is beating on him. I thought it was a good poem too. (taylor mali's)

[@corysmith3447]

that was the most racist comment ever, and I'm black lol SJW really have lost it youtube media is exposing this like crazy

[@timherns8004]

Does liking his poem more make me an old white man. That's just not possible. Because I'm a latino. Mali never made it about sex or race. He kept it grounded in the way people speak. Personally I find the manner of speaking that is discussed in both poems to be lacking a spine. So I can't say I like this rebuttal at all. It comes off as just whiny 'stop judging me and just accept me as I am' speak. The reason I have disdain for this way of speaking is because I want to know if you are telling me something or asking me and it doesn't want to seem to do either. I'll take a pass on this.

[@bigdonut001]

Wrong. This is basically a huffpost hit piece. Taylor Mali was not directing his poem at women. But this woman took it as so and took offense for no reason. Taylor Malis poem was a commentary of the lack of intelligence people exhibit. This poem was a pathetic attempt to make it an offense to women. Absolutely terrible.

[@apurvamali2735]

I legit just watched Taylor Mali's totally like whatever. I WAS BLOWN. And then VERY RANDOMLY the next I wanted to watch was Melissa so I put on this and it turned out to be a response to his. AND DAMN I AM BLOWNNNN. THIS IS LIT. THIS IS VERY LIT. I DIDN'T KNEW I NEEDED THIS.

[@bl2009]

this is super ironic because i was going to perform this at a speech and debate event. i was given seven weeks to prepare it and i felt really good about it. two days before the event, i received an email notifying me that i could not present it because it was not "family appropriate", aka i insulted white men

[@twosecondboy3378]

i wouldve done it anyway and stood my ground

[@bl2009]

since i was doing it through the school district, i would have faced repercussions at school

[@bl2009]

LipJobby excuse me?

[@corvusboreus2072]

Perhaps you should write a piece roundly insulting brown females instead. Or would that also be deemed 'family inappropriate'?

[@kingmespeaks6839]

+Corvus boreus , +LipJobby , I can see clearly how this wouldn't exactly be "family" appropriate because it is a bit insulting, I suppose, but I wouldn't go so far as to call it a "hate speech". It seems like a fairly inspirational poem, honestly. The focus of the poem isn't solely on insulting people, it's about overcoming those who hold you back and speaking out for yourself. If those who held the poet back were white males, she is able to speak about it from her point-of-view. I was (and still am, sometimes) held back by a couple of my black aunts, but I can still respect the poem because I understand the point that she is trying to make. Almost everyone has people that they have to work past to get to where they want to be in life.

[@jocelynorellana4887]

I saw this for the first time my senior year of high school, and now six years later I still use this poem to Ground myself. No words!

[@cool2beyou]

goosebumps every time i hear this

[@Beena_Sun]

This will always be one of my favorite poems! ❤❤❤

[@YourFace676]

Just watched this twice in a row. I love it so much, definitely a new favorite

[@wickedest-witch]

This is so incredibly brilliant, I've literally lost count of the times I've watched/listened to this. It's so well written and performed.

[@rachels7976]

This is amazing and important and COMPLETELY, PERFECTLY UNAPOLOGETIC. Keep tearing down those who would silence us.

[@wreckitremy]

Transcript: Like totally whatever after Taylor mali. In case you havent realized, it has somehow become necessary for OLD, white men to tell me how to speak. They, like, interrupt a conversation that isn't even theirs and are like, "speak like you mean it", and like "the internet is ruining the english language". And they like put my parentheticals, my likes and umms and you-knows on a wait list. Tell them no one will take them seriously in a frilly pink dress. Or that makeup. Tell them that they have a confidence problem. That they should learn to speak up. Like the hyper masculine words who are always the first to raise their hands. Invisible red pens and college degrees have been making their way into the middle of my sentences. I've been crossing things out every time I take a moment to think. Declarative sentences, so called because they DECLARED themselves to be the loudest, most truest, most taking up the most space, most totally white man sentences, have always told me that being angry, has, like, never helped anybody. Has only gotten in the way of helping them declare more shit, about how they'll never be forgotten, like, ever. It's like Scott Fitzgerald and ernest Hemingway were geniuses for turning women into question marks. It's like rapes- *audience cheers* Its like rapes happen all the time on college campuses, but as soon as john krakauer writes about it, suddenly it's like innovative nonfiction and not like, something girls are like making up for like attention and it's like maybe I'm always speaking in questions because I'm so used to being cut off. It's like maybe this is defense mechanism. Maybe everything girls do is evolution of defense mechanism. Like this isprotection, like our likes, are our kneepads. Our umms are the knives we tuck into our boots at night. Our you knows are the best friends we call when walking down a dark alley. Like this is how we breathe easier. But I guess, feelings never helped anybody. I guess like, tears never made change. I guess like everything girls do is a waste of time. So welcome to the bandwagon of my own uncertainty. Watch as I stick flowers in your punctuation mark guns cuz you can't just challenge authority. You gotta take it to the mall too. teach it to do the bend and snap. Paint its nails, braid its hair, tell it it looks like, really good today. And in that moment before you murder it with all the poison in your, like, softness. You let it know that, like, this like, this moment is like, um, you know, me using my voice

[@eamon2please]

*Mali

[@wreckitremy]

@@eamon2please ty, didnt know who that was. Updated

[@MyCecii]

Amazing

[@84bonez]

I really liked Mali's poem but this was powerful. I have to give up to her. That was a great response.

[@maidotsukiVA]

i want to personally mail this to every single 11 - 20 yr old boy who criticized my language and then some

[@maidotsukiVA]

no because im online and when im online in a public casual forum i dont give a shit about capitalization or not. i typed it how i normally would type it my dude.

[@kathrynguerrero9407]

this made me laugh thx

[@sasnimmo7792]

`Aiken Did you just reinforce what the poet said?

[@YouSuck921]

They criticize you for how you talk because you are a stupid uneducated fuck.

[@corysmith3447]

they criticize you because you are a man hater apparently

[@LLivLLaffLLuv]

I must have watched this at least fifty tiens

[@trollop_7]

How many?

[@mikakick7180]

One time I said "uh" like LITERALLY just "uh" and then what I was going to say after that and my dad said "are you sure?" And I said yes, then he said "well you said 'uh' you don't sound sure of yourself" and I said "well I just said 'uh' cuz I was thinking of what to say" then he said "you need to stop doing that then" and I was just like HUH????!! ALL I SAID WAS "uh" BEFORE AN ANSWER

[@Mitchell4892]

I often watch this one, it's so well written and she NAILED the presentation too. Wish her all the success. We need mind's like hers to change the current shit show. Great job!

[@livingsansara]

Just two nights ago I was at a bar with friends, having a drink after a long-ass day of college and work, and we were discussing a topic I'm very informed and passionate about (it's basically my major). My (male) friends were trying to school me on the topic (even though they were not that informed) and every time I tried to correct them, they cut me off or spoke over me. So I seized a quieter moment in the conversation, raised my voice a bit and spoke in a confident, commanding tone, explaining the actual facts they had glossed over. And guess what happened? A man who apparently had been right outside the bar listening in, came inside and started telling me to be more humble and "less pushy" in my speech. If I wanted to be taken seriously. Because "we can never be so sure of anything and speaking like that makes you appear bossy and bitchy". Yes, a stranger inserted himself in the conversation to tell me that I should be kinder and less certain, but he didn't seem to have a problem with the others talking over me. So, like, a woman talking is a problem and that's that. If you use fille words, you sound unsure, but if you speak like you're sure, you soud bitchy. No matter how you sound, there will always be a wise man nearby to tell you the way you speak is wrong. Maybe don't talk at all.

[@HissingThoughts]

This has made me rethink my daughter's likesing.

[@BenjaminTrillado]

Amazing.

[@cynhanrahan4012]

I heard about this poem via twitter while she was speaking it live. You nailed it, Melissa!

[@ramlamohamed8899]

Wow! This was powerful, it really resonated with me.

[@alexgax8114]

I will always love this video

[@domarie98]

This piece really just gives me chills and I absolutely adore it.

[@KeyInPeace]

Beautiful.

[@shannontaylor4277]

"So I implore you. I entreat you. I challenge you to speak with conviction; to say what you believe in a manner that bespeaks the determination with which you believe it." -Taylor Mali.... I'd say she's got a fairly firm grasp on this particular lesson. Turns out he's a pretty good teacher after all.

[@emilyo9533]

This is my favorite poem.

[@superbherb7947]

Ironically, the best lines in this poem are delivered with authority, such as "It's like F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway were geniuses for turning women into question marks," at 1:16 and "Maybe I'm always speaking in questions because I'm used to being cut off" at 1:35.

[@ledjessica]

Brilliant - "it’s like maybe this is defense mechanism. Maybe everything girls do is evolution of defense mechanism" I love that phrase, "evolution of defense mechanism." It's so true! And sad...frustrating...though, exciting to identify because now we can get rid of 'em!

[@katmow9622]

I talk cautiously in questions and ums because people love to correct me even when I am right and people love to cut me off when I am saying something important

[@fern5505]

Men mad in the comments

[@michaelelliott9096]

Thank you for this! I'm an old white man (and voice and speech teacher) and I think this is fantastic!!!

[@cdusdrei856]

Four years and still goddamn jawdropping!

[@sarahshepherd2559]

Best poem. So many quotable moments. I love her so much

[@CynicalPoet92]

When I listen to any of her poetry, I get inspired, even if it's the same poem, she manages to open up new ideas. Amazing work.

[@anthonyourbrother]

dopeness:) ....the ending was like... perfect🙏

[@ShowMeUnicorns]

this poem is so important.

[@MrMurphytomato13]

I showed this video to my English teacher after she showed me the poem this is responding to. She changed her mind

[@deIcorazon]

the cut off part.... wow

[@shelbyteresak]

This just became by favorite poem.

[@Thiefree]

Complete with a rising terminal! Very good point. Just as important as speaking, is teaching others to listen.

[@douglaszylstra5736]

She speaks with conviction. Ironically, I'm pretty sure Taylor Mali would like that.

[@a-drewg1716]

It is quite literally the exact purpose of his "poem" so it is funny that this is supposed to be a "rebuttal" or a "critic" to his work.

[@riripeaches]

@@a-drewg1716 No, she speaks with conviction while using words that he doesn't like

[@jadekavanah9312]

@@riripeaches His point is not the words, but it is rather the lack of confidence the words often carry

[@riripeaches]

@@jadekavanah9312 She's showing that the words don't equal lack of confidence and reclaiming those words

[@jadekavanah9312]

@@riripeaches Exactly. HIs point was never the words. Taylor Mali would agree with this poem.

[@katiekawaii]

@wertyhDA Just a note, one I hope will not distract from the poem and its meanings: Words have no inherent meaning. Words mean what we mean when we say them. If enough people use and understand a word to have a particular meaning, then it has that meaning. A lot of people now use literally to mean the opposite of what it used to mean, but this has happened countless times before, like when people stopped meaning defense when they said apology. Should it annoy someone that apology now means the opposite of what it once did? Language always changes. For example, ask was once aks. Now some dialects are returning to the old pronunciation, aks, amid cries of That Is Not Proper English! Seems funny when you know that it was aks originally, right? Proper English is a nonsensical idea. Dictionaries are written by people observing how words are used, not determining how words ought to be used; they are records of a language at a moment in time. Language itself is a living thing, it is as we use it, and it belongs equally to each of us.

[@CinnamonToast]

@Felix Ray things that are abominations: 1) poverty 2) systemic racism, sexism, and classism 3) people dying of preventable diseases 4) mass shooting epidemics that the government does nothing to prevent things that are not abominations 1) language evolving

[@daliagarcia525]

Wow.just wow. Gave me the shivers

[@lordsmeef4984]

I ADORE THIS!!

[@annyongpanda]

Aaactually the original wasn't a gendered poem and there's a difference between speech used between friends and speech used in class and at job interviews and such. I remember the trend he refers to- when it seemed popular to sound like everything was a question and "whatever" was an attitude that wiped away any concern for serious issues. He wasn't insulting the defense mechanisms of women. He was, as a teacher, emploring his listeners to speak boldly and with conviction. That's something women can do without losing their v-card.

[@TybaltS]

I wanted to say exactly that, thanks. I don't know if the author of that poem is trying to bash Taylor Mali for his poem or not based on the assumtion or the misinterpretation that the original was sexist. But I wasn't sure if I could post this, by fear of getting attacked by wild feminazis.

[@shadradch]

It's really a shame you had to detract from the well-reasoned and legitimately critical nature of the original comment by tagging it with your "wild feminazis" shit.

[@toriannajacque6398]

exactly what I was thinking

[@williegraas2451]

THANK. YOU. THANK. YOU. THANK. YOU.

[@fannishfanning160]

FUCKING PREACH THIS. I got disappointed by this poem as early as the first verse line. I literally rolled my eyes.

[@OhMyLucia]

"It's like this... like this moment is um... you know, me using my voice." FUCK YES

[@asias3000]

hope this gets popular!! this needs to be heard everywhere !!*snaps*

[@asias3000]

yo how tHE FUCK did this get almost 600k views im scrreeeaming

[@amyle1408]

This might be my new favorite poem.

[@rawalh]

Amazing poetry.

[@DudettsUnite]

I watch a lot of button poetry. a lot. this is one of my favourites.

[@LanNguyen-iu3oe]

Definitely one of my faves. I love this

[@ReddMoneyHarleyQuinn]

First Of All. I Love This. Second Of All. I Love It. Third. I Love Women. This Is Amazing

[@eynaveliyahu2487]

that is a really good poem, thank you

[@ButtonPoetry]

I'm glad you like it

[@haileyelizabeth1080]

so powerful 🤍

[@dorithedemigod4949]

I'm so happy to be alive in a world where women are so empowered by the undeniable truth that our existence means so much more than society has previously made it out to be. WHO RUN THE WORLD? Like...we do.

[@theob5923]

i'm screaming, i love this

[@zeynepsaymebora2135]

I love this poem so much

[@roxaneguyton-voneck4842]

I watched this in highschool and it honestly probably changed the way I speak to this day. Like SEE RIGHT THERE THERE IT IS ok like it helped me accept and feel strong in the way I use likes and stuff like that to. It’s like when Spanish speaking people say pero. It’s just a like trampoline into my next sentence and it lets me know it’s ok yea basically just what she said

[@trenajohnson4453]

You are one of my favorite poets.

[@skyicee4801]

I love her

[@muckycherub8099]

I absolutely love this poem. I keep coming back to it. Love it.

[@2486trixie]

Thank you.

[@Elaret]

This is amazing

[@fadesblue]

so many chills!! love this!

[@miacooper4961]

I HAVE CHILLS

[@talyah6781]

CHILLS. I GOT CHILLS

[@hexpredatorr]

practice her speech for clear skin

[@BratzIZ]

this is so therapeutic

[@bellarose5296]

oh my god. every word in this hit me, hard.

[@paiganism]

GOD this kicks ass. incredible.

[@katttydaddy4741]

Never disappointed.

[@Sweetheeart95]

My first time hearing her & im in love rn

[@zynahchan]

Wow this is amazing. I honestly love that poem by Taylor Mali but you gave it a whole entire meaning and twist. Thank you so much.

[@serai2807]

Yaaaaaaas

[@justshanban279]

This gave me chills

[@nirbhikasachdev8102]

gurrrrrl this woman kills !

[@zombieking75]

awesome performance simply beautiful

[@imabettertypeofnerd1305]

hi this video is really old but I watched it when it was first released and I just found it again an I just thought you should know how much this means to me?? I do this thing where after I say something serious I laugh a little, and it's so second nature I never noticed until someone pointed it out and now I'm super insecure about it 👉👈 when I mentioned it to my mom, she said something about how it's probably a defense mechanism so no one ever takes what I say seriously. I literally undermine my own sentences without thinking because I'm scared someone will interrupt or correct me. I just think this message about breaking little girl's confidence in their own voice should be talked about more so like,, thanks. for talking about it

[@josiecostigan5368]

I love this spoken word and i love what the whole piece symbolizes. she is incredible and gave me chills but I honestly don't believe Taylor Mali's piece was written with the intent that she described.

[@sut46]

Why is this so underrated?? Gave me goosebumps

[@xwatch985]

The references were beautiful.