He started talking about his marriage. I leaned across the table and pressed two fingers against his lips. ‘Let’s not do that. Let’s not sit here and tell each other everything there is to know about...
He said/she said is why so many victims (or survivors, if you prefer that terminology) don’t come forward. All too often, what he said matters more, so we just swallow the truth. We swallow it, and mo...
For heaven’s sake, what kind of question is that? Would you want to be friends with Humbert Humbert? Would you want to be friends with Mickey Sabbath? Saleem Sinai? Hamlet? Krapp? Oedipus? Oscar Wao?...
Each time my mother took me to the mall, I went straight to Waldenbooks
Certainly, it has shown me the importance of inclusivity and acceptance (not merely tolerance) for diverse body types.
At night, I have to face myself and all the ways I have failed.
Anger without action leads to riots.
Anger is the privilege of the truly broken, and yet, I’ve never met a woman who was broken enough that she allowed herself to be angry.
A different day has come, though. I flinch less and less when I am touched. I don’t always see gentleness as the calm before the storm because, more often than not, I can trust that no storm is coming...
Whenever I am near other people, I try to fold into myself so that my body doesn’t disrupt the space of others. I take this to extremes. I will spend five-hour flights tucked against the window, my ar...
I'd rather be a bad feminist than no feminist at all
I wanted to tell him I saw the exact same things he did, that this country was a lot for anyone to take, but it was easier to pretend I didn’t. Back
I made my choice. There is nothing you cannot do when you are no one.
I loved that feeling, that I was interesting enough to break rules, to believe rules did not apply to me.
I don’t want my lover seeing only a moment from my assault when they look at me. I don’t want them to think me more fragile than I am. I am stronger than I am broken. I don’t want them, or anyone, to...
College and kindergarten aren’t as different as you’d think.
Black women are rarely allowed their femininity.