Carlos Andrés Gómez's daughter is not a princess.
In his poem, "If A Princess Tries To Kidnap Your Daughter," the spoken word poet speaks out against gendered expectations his daughter will have to face as she grows up.
Standing in front of Yasmin Hernandez's vibrant "Soldaderas" mural in New York City's Spanish Harlem ahead of Father's Day, Gómez explained why he won't let society project its problematic understanding of womanhood on her.
"Princess pretty. Princess precious. Princess mixed girl..." he recited. "The word is dangerous and ubiquitous as a shaking chamber baptized by gunpowder."
Midway through the piece, Gómez changes his tone, insisting he has bigger dreams for his daughter.
"Our daughter will be a neuroscientist, a biochemist who discovers the cure to progeria or ebola," he said. "Our daughter will shoot 90 percent at the free throw line and adore Sophocles, Audre Lorde and Mahmoud Darwish."
Gómez wraps the poem with a poignant message about his daughter.
"She is many things. She is everything, but one thing she will never be is a princess," he said.
Hear Gómez's moving words in the video above.
This video was produced by Kat Santiago, edited by Terence Krey and shot by Dan Fox, Ian MacInnes, Mike Caravella and JR Cronheim.
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