you don't need a live body, you just need a body

What is girlhood/womanhood? This question really had me thinking of the nature of the world and the people who inhabit them. I’ve been watching my fair amount of sad girl films such as Lilya 4-Ever and Welcome to the Dollhouse and the relatability within the world when it comes to your organs. Depending on whether or not you are born or spiritually female the outcome ends the same, caution and suffering. There is no room in a world of cruel men to be a naive woman. The desire to experience the world will always come with intense caution. When you say “I’m just a girl”, do you really understand the weight you are carrying in that sentence? It has become a generalized statement for women to dumb themselves down and feed into societal pressures of the patriarchy. Now you may think I’m being dramatic and it’s honestly not that deep, isn’t it? I won’t say I haven’t fallen guilty of the statement, the programming is just so interesting.

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When Gwen Stefani wrote the song “Just a Girl” with the irony that women will never get to experience the average behavior men get to, such as driving late at night without fear that they might get kidnapped or assaulted. The true irony of that is who Gwen Stefani has become herself after writing an extremely political song, we regress.

Don’t take offense if you actively use the statement, we are being programmed to. Just always understand your value. I’ve come to the conclusion that we as women are allowed to take space, and we should. No room to be naive and no room to be small. If you have a voice let it be heard. We are not only bodies, we are souls.

I’ve recently had an upsetting conversation with a friend of mine, who tends to only read books written by men. He says it is “accidental”. I believe that he just refuses to put in the effort to listen to other voices than his own. Don’t you care about a voice such as your mother’s?

God forbid, a girl mentions she doesn’t read books written by men? After said statement comes a long lecture of the importance of men’s literature.

“What about all the great philosophers?”

I often don’t anymore, yet I tried and I continue to do so. I’m also someone who likes to hear all voices and often make an effort to read translated literature, I put in the effort. Isn’t it so simple? It’s the hesitance that comes with listening to women. We are just objects, we are not meant to react only to behave.

We are often left with a world of desires in a never ending beating heart. We have so much inside of us. Unfortunately often for men, a woman doesn’t need to be a live body she only needs a body.