"I'm not like other girls."
"I'm not like her."
"Did you see what she was wearing?"
"I can't believe she wore that!"
"You can't wear that. It's for skinny girls."
"You shouldn't wear that. You need bigger breasts to hold it up."
"All girls are alike."
"You can't be a girl."
"Are you sure you're *insert relevant term here*? I mean, no offense but I don't think you are."
"Maybe it's just a phase."
"She deserved it. Did you see what she was wearing?"
"She was asking for it. Look at the way she was behaving!"
"She's such a bitch."
Do any of these sound familiar? Do you utter any of these phrases? It's alright. This is a non-judgemental place. I'm not here to judge you. In return, I request the same courtesy from you. Deal?
Here's what I have to say:
No two girls or women are alike. Maybe they have similarities. But they are not the same person. Do not compare one female to another or to the rest of the female gender.
All females are beautiful. Whether cis or trans*, black, white, yellow, brown or any other colour. Whether you're tall or short, big or small, skinny or not. There is something amazing about you that makes you different from the billions of people here. You are special and you'd better believe it.
Nobody has the right to define you or to force you to become someone you're not.
Nobody has the right to force you into anything.
It's alright to say 'no'. You shouldn't be afraid of saying it. If you are, examine the reasons and correct them if you can. If you can't, find a friend with a good shoulder and talk it out. You should hopefully find a solution.
Everybody has the right to a life without fear: fear of being discriminated, fear of violence, fear of anything unreasonable that disturbs the peace of their daily lives. In return, you shouldn't inflict that fear on other people.
Rape is caused by rapists. Not by circumstances.
Everyone has a reason for their actions or why they are that way. If it's really bugging you, ask gently and offer a non-condemnatory shoulder.
Don't backstab. Be reasonable. Be fair. Again, if you really dislike someone's behaviour (dislike the action, not the person!) let them know what and why and do not lose your temper. If the other person loses their temper, let them know you don't hold it against them but don't let them abuse you. Walk away. If they're amenable to listening to you and you're able to have a good clear-the-air talk, all the better and props to the two of you for being mature adults.
You think someone's a little weird and shy? Say 'hi' once in a while and try not to treat them like an outcast. Be nice.
It's alright to fall once in a while. Get back up. It's as simple and as hard as that.
Stand up for others. Stand up for the ones who can't stand up for themselves.
Stand up for the female race. We're all women. Stand up for trans women too.
A person has the right to do whatever they want, provided nobody is being hurt. She sleeps around? No, she isn't a slut. Sex is a completely natural act, the excess or lack thereof shouldn't be part of a description. If you're a virgin, fine and good. If you aren't, so what? Unless you lost it in a situation you regret. I'm sorry, in that case.
It's alright to wear whatever you want regardless of your body type. It's not alright to ridicule someone just because you think they're dressed funny.
Love Your Body isn't an excuse to just sit around and eat pizza. You don't need an excuse to sit on your couch and eat whatever you want. Love Your Body means you have the right to decide what's best for you. And okay, sometimes sitting around and eating pizza is the best for you too.
Gender equality. Guys can wear whatever they want too! Of course, it's a little more complicated than that...
A man doesn't have to necessarily be the breadwinner in a family. Personally, I want a house husband. I would never think of him as less than a man for doing the washing and cooking. There's just something sexy about a domesticated male to me.
Some people identify as neither male nor female. Or maybe both. Or a combination of the two. I believe I have bigender tendencies. My friends (all males) asked me what I meant by that, 'ohhh'-ed at my explanation and promptly passed me more food (pretty much our way of bonding).
Fluidity in gender and sexuality. Yes, it exists.
Some people believe in a god of some sort, some don't, some have a complex idea of god. It's fine.
Some people don't want romantic love or to have sex or a variation of the two. Don't force them. They aren't broken and they do not need to be 'fixed'.
A person's age does not always make them unsuitable for a certain task.
We are humans. Over the millenia we have evolved. We have seen empires rise and fall. We have had great people walk the earth with us and leave, their names immortal in memory. We have split the atom. We have put a man on the moon. We have charted the paths of the planets. We have made works of art so beautiful they transcend cultures and make us weep. We have accomplished what previous generations have thought impossible and we will continue pushing boundaries. We have killed, we have loved, we have hated and we have lived.
And we still cannot get along.
That probably tells you more about the homo sapiens than you need to know.
But remember Pandora's box?
When Pandora opened the box given to her by the Greek gods out of curiosity, she let all sorts of evil escape. Horrified, she sought to close it but it was too late. Everything had been let loose already except for one thing. It lay in the bottom of the box and hovered out just before she closed the lid. "Thank you for letting me out," it said. "I am Hope."
And so it flew off to join a world full of anger, hate, envy, jealousy and now- hope.
