I am sharing this not only to vent my frustrations but also with the aim to prove to myself and others that blatant harassment comes in many forms, and that if you feel that somebody is crossing a line, its important to listen to that…
I first met Anna at a training day for Sexpression, a club which trains volunteers to teach sexual education to teenagers at local secondary schools. When I introduced myself to…
You are not the only one who distrusts and resents that part of their body. When you enter a relationship, you will find it impossible to have sex, and you will feel futile and unloveable as a result…
I remember going for a wee when I was around twelve, looking down at my vagina and being baffled by the sudden appearance of labia minora. I had literally no idea what they were…
Last year I spent a portion of my gap year in Pakistan. One day I attended a lecture on Jinnah, the founder of the nation. I remember shivering in the…
Right now it seems like not having sex life equates to leading no life at all. All your friends are doing it, and you feel its vacancy…
It will change your life.
My boyfriend bought me one and honestly it has been such a brilliant, liberating thing to have!
Jane’s return. ‘Do not struggle so,’ I have been told, and then felt Angered and afraid Of chains and of nets.Now I have returned to youof my own free will…
Womanhood
My long hair is the hood of womanhood
A waterfall of compliments and male validation, a crown
You see me in the street and know i am a girl
If i shaved my head would i be a strong woman
Or an unwoman
Red riding hood becomes the wolf
Lilah Hyman
Little Delhi Girl
A little girl skipped into the road during a red light
No older than four
Bare feet pattering against dusty tarmac
What if it turns green?
What if the cars don’t see her?
Smiling, as vibrant as Delhi itself
Child of the city
The traffic her playground
One note her prize
Lilah Hyman
Washing.
Heart beat pumping aching shoulders into motion
Coarse fabric beneath tired hands
The wail of an infant ringing in her ears
She places a detergent capsule in the machine, shuts it and moves the knob to 40 degrees mixed load.
Lilah Hyman
When my boyfriend comments on the personality, actions or sense of style of another woman I often feel jealous rather than impressed. He will say ‘she’s a genius’, ‘she’s a really strong woman you would rate her’, ‘she is so vibey and creative’…
Unstring my wings.
Pretty little thing – doe eyes, gentle smile –
These things you call me and it’s sweet for a while,
Until they wrap up my wings in tangled twine,
Restrain me from nature and you think that it’s fine.
I have brittle bones and one word could break them into pieces for you to collect:
When this started, I could not expect
To be taken for a thing for you to call yours,
Take me from the moors and keep me indoors –
Babe, I just want to be free
And maybe that means that this isn’t meant to be.
Though tonight I won’t sleep a wink
For all this thinking, and overthinking,
I know it’s for the best.
You – you have put my heart to the test
And I am sick of making revisions
To fit into your future visions
Of a white picket fence life,
For I was not meant to be a wife,
Not really. I was meant to be a wild thing,
Running through forests, free to unstring
My wings and let them fly.
Rhi Henry
I’m always apologising. Is it because I’m just an apologetic person? Is it just because I am British? Or is it because I’m a woman?
I’m in a beautiful jewellery store in Jaipur. The shopkeeper’s intensity and way of speaking would make an excellent chat show host. He tells me that because my name is Lilah and i am born on the 14th of April i should buy a clear amethyst pendant…
