Comparing The Poem 'I, Being Born A Woman And Distressed'

In the poem “I, Being Born a Woman and Distressed”, by Edna St. Vincent Millay, the topic of women’s freedom to express themselves sexually is especially prominent. The poem goes into much detail of a woman and her experiences of simply wanting to be with another person sexually, without being in a committed relationship. The poet explains the trouble women go through for wanting to be sexually active, and the difficulties they face. This poem explains a woman’s desires to be promiscuous, and the inner turmoil she faces from these desires through rhyme scheme, the form of the poem, and the choice of words.
The bold poem, “I, Being Born a Woman and Distressed” written about, specifically, a woman’s desire to simply have sex, and not be in a committed relationship. Typically, women are not considered to be very sexual beings. For years, women have been discouraged to express themselves sexually. The notion that women have the freedom to do whatever they want with their bodies and be as sexually promiscuous as they want has always been a topic society has struggled with. This poem very much asserts that woman should be free to do whatever they want, especially when it comes to their bodies, and not have to be harassed by society’s
Women typically are not allowed to express their desires to be promiscuous, such as in a way that the poem “I, being Born a Woman” by Edna St. Vincent Millay is describing. The poem follows a woman and her desires to simply want to have sex, and is proud of this feeling, and yet feels amounts of shame. This is due to what is socially acceptable. The poet very much expresses these feelings using “you” instead of a gender-specific pronoun, through the form of the poem, and the abrupt change in rhyme scheme, enhancing the woman’s abrupt change in thought and feeling about the