This originally appeared on The Manifest-Station. Republished here with permission. I realized that I didn’t want a child for the rest of his or her life, I wanted a child to take away my loneliness, my emptiness…for a month or two. He was a spiritual advisor/therapist of sorts. More like a healer/shaman. I had known […]
Whether she identifies as a boy or a girl hardly matters, as long as she never feels trapped in a place or a persona that no longer fits. Today my daughter is wearing blue camouflage shorts, a white collared shirt and a necktie with thick blue stripes. It’s the beginning of third grade and this […]
This originally appeared on Story Club Magazine. Republished here with permission. The people who laugh at this picture won’t know that every jeer, every “Mooooo!” every “Sorry, no fatties” made me more and more successful at being bodiless. One night, about 10 months ago, I got an email from a friend in Vermont, with the subject line “Is this you!?” I […]
This originally appeared on The Manifest-Station. Republished here with permission. Note: This piece contains discussion of domestic abuse, which may upset some readers. Don’t ask me why I stayed. Ask me why I left. Every October I wear a purple ribbon. It represents women who have lost their lives to senseless violence. It represents men […]
This originally appeared on xoJane. Republished here with permission. No one knew that I added 20 pounds in my mind when I looked in the mirror. No one knew because boys don’t do that. We may self-deprecate. We may not like our bodies as is. But we don’t do eating disorders. I’ve always been picked […]
If I’m walking alone at night, and you are a man between the ages of 20 and 60 and your gait looks even remotely confident, I’m terrified of you. A few months ago I was walking back from the gym at 8:30pm, carrying a gym bag full of clothes and my computer. The bulk of […]
This originally appeared on JaysonGaddis.com. Republished here with permission. Being perceived as gay. Being perceived as too feminine. And having a small penis. Want to know any man’s biggest fear? Some might say “the unknown,” “being broke,” “not being loved,” or “not being in control.” While these top the list, there are a few fears […]
This originally appeared on The Princess Free Zone. Republished here with permission. Asking girls to always be clean, proper, and pretty sets up an unrealistic expectation that hurts their ability to play side-by-side with the boys. Here’s a news bulletin: Little girls sweat. Oh, and sometimes they even stink. Yep, they play hard and get […]
