Dear Men (and women)

Dear Men, I can't even remember the first time I was catcalled as it happens so frequently it now feels like a routine. The male species that I've encountered implanted so much fear in me that I’d rather take the long route to class than pass a pathway full of boys and I’m only 15. A recent study performed by an organization called Hollaback! found that on average most women experienced catcalling for the first time between the ages of 11 and 17 When I was younger, I mistook your words for compliments But I realized how destructive they were when I began questioning my own body Asking myself if it was because of the way I dressed, or compared to other girls the fullness of my chest Dear Men, When you lay your eyes on a woman passing by And your mouth delivers a package, labeled compliments But when opened, erupts a volcano of degrading words, hot like lava whistles pierce her ears, hard like rocks requests of a smile, a hug, boil her blood like steam think of your mother your sister your daughter your aunt the girl right next to you envision their countenance and think to yourself would you tell them you'd hit that? why watch those vines of oppression wrap around their bodies her body my body our bodies and suffocate us until there is nothing left when you can instead appreciate the body that gifted you life eradicate those suffocating vines Dear men, Why are our bodies seen as everything but ours when a woman is violated she’s asked “what where you wearing?” as if her clothes are a neon sign deciding when shes open or closed some women try to avoid it by covering up every inch of skin yet 85% of women still get harassed Its like a game set up solely for you to win when puberty strikes girls are erocticized seen as objects parents tell their daughters cover up your legs, your shirts too tight go change your outfit, men are coming boys will be boys no, I say boys will not be boys boys will be held accountable for their actions boys will respect girls and boys will grow into men that see women as human Ladies, Catcallers have not been complimenting you, they've been gradually turning you into an object something to examine, to touch, to claim their words are meant to be vines in your garden. made to constantly wrap around you, until you've been pulled through the ground to the lowest level of the earth surrounded by darkness And you feel like there's no way out like you'll never get back up But today I hope I can guide you back to the light with my words the greatest gift given to me Dear Women, The length of your skirt or the amount of cleavage peeking through your shirt Does not define who you are or your self-worth You are not a machine made exclusively for pleasing or exclusively for birth I'm here to tell you, you are not less, because when you finally start to see the power you possess A corrupt system invades your awareness causing you to regress Despite all the pressure, I need you to remember You are beautiful You are intelligent You are strong And you are everything any man ever told you you could not be erase all those bullet like words that lead you to hate your body embellish the blank canvas you were given with words that uplift you, words that shield your soul from the knives that are thrown at you everyday no, your stretch marks are not a stain on your skin But rather a mark of the various places your body has been no, your scars do not make you look weak But rather they're an element to your story in which is so unique Your acne doesn't make you ugly, it's just a part of life You're a being made for imperfection but yet so divine Stop picking your clothing based on if Bob from chemistry class will like it or if Billy thinks it's too provocative Choose your clothing because it makes you feel like you run the world Because you have the power to Never let anyone label you or assign you a definition as that is your job and today it will be day you turn down applicants applying for that position Today you're going to see yourself as the woman you really are Today you're going to take back your body.