“WE ARE REBELS BECAUSE THOSE WHO GOVERN US, OFTEN—BLINDLY, NO DOUBT BETRAY US” –Nance o’Neill, lover of Lizzie Borden
before you take a step closer, think:
how informed you want to be
Current New York State Law is tangling with the number of condoms we carry.
Did you know this?
New York’s Three-Condom Law is their attempt to prosecute those carrying three or more condoms on the grounds that they are sex workers, in an effort to punish/jail prostitutes.
a silent dialect for those
unable to speak using the signs of
their body.
the scaffold of what is
you see these organs
this tongue hunched over
borrowed by the hour or night
you see this arm which wrangles neck and belt and tangle of of
you see these feet which curl
this hair you pull
you see this brain you forgot
you gut
you see this womb you rot
forget don’t ask
you make this scar
make them plural
you see this harm
this need
you see me right?
right?
Criminalization of condom possession directly conflicts with New York’s longstanding policy of ENCOURAGING condom use.
state of new york taps these women
these men
these humans
on the shoulder
checks for evidence of prostitution
calls condoms:
evidence of prostitution
three or more found in pockets
noticed bulge of rubber sheath lambskin latex
with hands in metal cuffs
removal of breaths or rights
punishment for responsibility
Does she look like a sex worker?
Oh.
What does a sex worker look like?
And how could you not ENCOURAGE her to put one on him
before he puts it IN her?
Since the early 1970’s women have vocalized their need for regulations against persecution for those who engage in sexual activities in exchange for monetary gain.
No Condoms as Evidence of Prostitution Bill is moving forward to eradicate this law, which punishes people for being sex positive in a safe manner.
Sex worker.
Or sexually playful.
There is a shape
plunged into mouth
It resembles—
A splinter.
A diagnosis.
An envelope of twenty dollar bills rolled up and
used to test gag reflex.
Her tongue is a plague and she does not use protection
because
you took it away from her, New York.
so she grows weary
bumpy
SICK
modified cells
box of accidental gatherings
itchy
tiny humans growing on skin
an opposition
a blur
New York,
unemployment rate is rising
you steal these humans away for protecting their bodies
sometimes you test them out before
locking them up
and you wonder why these diseases enter our alphabet
I am responding to the growing epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases draining bodies into corpses
and if we start taking all the condoms away or those equaling more than two, then what
are we contributing to?
So, I’ve got these condoms.
Far more than three.
What does that make me now?
Aimee Herman 