As a Women’s Studies major, I’ve been trained to conduct readings with a feminist lens in mind. Ntozake calls for a God who “bleeds” in her piece, “We Need a God Who Bleeds Now.” This was my favorite piece from her collection of poems entitled A Daughters Geography because it not only challenged traditional, male-oriented ideas about religion, but it pushed back against the historically negative perceptions surrounding menstruation. It suggests that bleeding is a sign of strength rather than weakness. In times past, menstruation was seen as shameful, in some cultures a reason to be sent away from the community, and on an everyday basis, a cause of anxiety and discomfort. Our contemporary climate is not entirely void of this conception, but it has since improved. However, Ntozake’s evocation of menstruation in her piece “We Need a God Who Bleeds Now” suggests that “that time of the month” should not be something shameful, but rather something to be idealized. She writes, “I am/ not wounded I am bleeding to life.” This line resonated with me because it opposes the idea that menstruation is a sign of “dying” within the body but rather, that it is an indication of fertility and femininity—not something that would be hated but rather an characteristic that we should want a God to emanate.
Similarly, to state that society needs a female God means that in this particular moment, there is nothing more crucial that to have a female leader. To specifically necessitate a female God rightfully challenges the dominant religious God, a Protestant and Christian religion deeply entrenched in hegemonic, masculine ideologies. I would also go so far as to say that this God is not strictly religious, but rather a governing figure over the world that we require. The message that this piece sends to readers is both powerful and brave.