Sensitive content: sexual assault and violence
Girlhood is crying over a boy and shaming yourself for being so weak. You know that he will grow into a man who whistles at us in public.
Girlhood is carrying a rape whistle in your purse and preferring to be ignored by men than smiled at.
Girlhood is realizing what stranger danger really means and the tragedy of having to learn it so young.
Girlhood is covering your childish fear of men with anger because anger is a vulnerability and vulnerability makes you a target.
Girlhood is killing the little girl you once were, knowing you must grow up to avoid being taken advantage of.
Girlhood should be the innocence of a new flower blossom in the spring, not a fresh slab of meat in the butcher’s window.
Girlhood should not be titled girlhood. Girls should not have to carry this title and write poems about it at fifteen.
Olivia Tan lives in Chelsea, QC with her family and two cats. She loves music, poetry and theatre, and you can frequently see her playing saxophone in her school’s band. She believes in whimsy, daydreams, and frolicking through the hardships of life the best you can.