like a woman
be strong. be beautiful. be brave. be bold. be kind. smile more. laugh often. don’t be too bold. don’t be too brave. don’t make a man feel less-than. be smart, but not too smart. be warm. be loving. be compassionate. hate your body. break your body. give your body to others. keep your body to yourself. it’s not your body. it’s not your choice. love openly. don’t be a slut. speak, be silent. don’t challenge the way of the world. close your eyes. let it happen. why did you let it happen? were you asking for it? what were you wearing? cry, it is a woman’s rite of passage. don’t cry, you weak, hysteric creature. fight for yourself. stand for yourself. lay down, be complicit. who do you think you are? you can’t do that. men only. you’re too weak. fight, resist, grow, learn, be. cry, curse, brawl, scream. nevertheless - persist.
