Society tells me
that happy girls are the prettiest girls,
but I’m not always happy

Society tells me
that thigh gaps equate beauty,
but my thighs touch

Society tells me
that I lost my femininity when I cut my hair off,
but I still have female organs

Society tells me
I am fat,
but I really am…

When I was a little girl,
I drew a picture of myself and another
girl both in wedding dresses
holding hands.

It infuriated my mother,
and she tore the picture up and burned
it with a lighter.

“You don’t draw pictures like that,”
She told me. “That is not okay.”

From the start,
I’ve been taught…