“America’s Man” by Ace Bell

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“You’ll never be a man”

No, I’ll never be your man I’ll never be who you want

What you need

Or what you like to see

I’ll never be the man

I’ll never be what you’re used to seeing

I’ll never be that simple

That unoriginal

I’ll never be that man

I’ll never be who women fear as they walk the streets

I’ll never be the one who hurts them

Who dehumanizes others

“You’ll never be a man”

And you’re right

But I don’t want to be your man

I would hate to be that man

And I’ll never be America’s man

Ace Bell (he/they) is a Class of 2027 freshman studying Psychology with a double minor in Gender, Race, and Nation and Creative Writing. As a trans/non-binary person, Ace wrote "America's Man" as a promise to society that queer people, particularly trans-masculine people such as himself, will not change nor conform to the social norms of society in order to be seen as acceptable to America. He hopes that other people, regardless of gender, sex, or sexuality, find solace and self-worth within this piece.