The Bride

I was on Tumblr yesterday and I came across this picture of this poem. While I think it IS somewhat sweet, I think that there is a deeper message that is being stated here. I feel that the poem is implying that we, as women, must wait for someone to come and love us like no other. We are just going to be automatically swept off of our feet, and HE [the poem implies a "he" because when we think of marriage in our culture we think of a man & a woman (which opens up a whole other can of worms that I won't go into)] will come and save us and love us and make us happy forever. This poem also implies, in my own opinion, that women only feel beautiful, loved, and happy when they have a man that wants to be with them.

My question is: Why can't I be beautiful WITHOUT being a bride? Why can't I be happy WITHOUT having a man? Why can't I love myself WITHOUT someone else? Isn't the love that I have for myself enough? Shouldn't we be teaching women that they need to love THEMSELVES before loving someone else? Women should be taught that they can fully love themselves, and that their love for their-self is enough. You, as a person--as a human being--do NOT need someone else to love you, make you validated, or to make you feel like a full person. I believe that men are taught this, while women are taught to be co-depedant--that we need a man in order to be truly fulfilled. This is not the case, and women do not need men to feel beautiful. They simply need to love themselves.