Amanda Peacock's "To be a girl" is an angry, frustrated list of the pressures girls face. The speaker describes being stared at, called names, and told what to wear and how to behave. Whatever she chooses seems wrong: stand up for herself and she's called a slur, wear short skirts or long ones and she's judged either way, be larger and she's mocked, be thin and she's held up as an ideal she can't reach.
The poem turns darker when it reaches rape culture. The speaker describes victims being questioned about their clothes and drinking, while passers-by ignore her shouts. The simple rhymes and blunt, almost chant-like lines make the tone feel raw and urgent, like someone who has had enough.
Yet the ending shifts. The question "what is it like to be a girl?" returns, but this time the answer is defiant: stand your ground, be yourself, and make some noise. The mood moves from hurt and anger toward determination.