Okay. I have so many problems with this meme, I don’t even know where to start. 1) What is a “good girl with morals”? According to Albanian culture, it means not dating in your teens, in your twenties, or basically ever, until you meet a suitor. Then, you’re supposed to go on a few dates, maybe date for a few months (a couple of years tops) and then get engaged (and lose your virginity on your wedding night). It also means that you are “modest”, meaning you don’t wear short skirts and dresses that show off your cleavage and you don’t wear excessive makeup. As a “modest” girl, you also don’t voice your opinions or laugh too loudly or talk back to anyone. 2) Who are “these kurva”? If we follow the misogynistic dichotomies that Albanian culture is steeped in, if none of the examples listed above apply to you, it means you’re a “kurvë” (whore). 3) The mentality that everything you do must be to better your chances of finding a husband. As an Albanian woman, that is your main goal in life. As if being a “good girl with morals”, in a truer sense, can ever be a waste of time. 4) My biggest problem with this is of course that women have internalized this misogyny which they in turn perpetuate and reinforce by policing each other. The most dangerous part is the mentality that if you’re a “good girl with morals” then you’re somehow more deserving of finding love and being happy than “these kurva”. It really scares me when I have one of those brief moments, when I need someone to blame, when I’m sad and mad about my own situation and this is where my mind wanders, before I have to check myself, which again makes me sad and mad. It never ends.
