The speaker starts with a clear, straightforward declaration about her body: "these hips are big hips." There's a clear confidence to this simple, declarative statement, which suggests a proud tone of voice and commands the reader's respect.
Rather than apologizing for the space her body takes up, the speaker goes on to declare that her hips "need space to / move around in," personifying her hips by giving them the agency to do as they please. In turn, the speaker suggests that the surrounding world must accommodate her, and this implies that the speaker sees herself as powerful. In other words, she isn't afraid to take up space in the world—space she knows she deserves.
The speaker goes on to say that her hips "don't fit into little / petty places." The word "petty" is often used to describe things of lesser importance, and its usage here suggests that the speaker's hips symbolize her unwillingness to be shunted to the side or deemed unimportant by society. By focusing on her hips, the speaker achieves a sense of empowerment.
This empowerment is tied to femininity, sexuality, and fertility. This is because of a simple reproductive fact: women tend to have proportionally wider hips than men, which makes it easier to bear children. And though there are many ways to embody femininity or identify as a woman, this poem celebrates wide hips as a symbol of womanhood and a source of strength.
These important thematic and symbolic ideas become clear in the very first line, as the speaker uses diacope to repeat the word "hips" at the beginning and end of the line: "these hips are big hips." This creates a musical rhythm, bolstered by the assonant /i/ sounds in "hips" and "big." In fact, assonance runs throughout these opening lines, as the /ay/ sound appears alongside the /ee/, /oo/, and short /i/ sounds:
these hips are big hips
they need space to
move around in.
they don't fit into little
petty places.
The speaker uses consonance here as well, lending these lines a controlled, musical, and pleasant feel. Consider, for example, the /t/ sound in lines 4 and 5: "they don't fit into little / petty places." This sound breaks up the line, giving it a subtly percussive rhythm that also appears in the alliterative repetition of the plosive /p/ sound in "petty places." The language sounds melodic and satisfying, giving the speaker's tone an assertive quality that is also celebratory and uplifting.