We live in a society where beauty is boss, where the market
for acne-correcting concealer is the solution to sadness.
we let chemicals seep into our hair,
our skin,
like we were born as toxic waste dumps.
we deposit GOD KNOWS what onto and into our bodies because
GOD KNOWS that the only label we care to leer at
is the one that tells us how many calories we might have to purge from our bodies later,
because GOD KNOWS that we won’t get into heaven
without sleek blonde hair and inch-long lashes when all heaven really is to us
is a declaration of “have you lost weight?!”,
dropped dress sizes,
and skin as soft, smooth, and hairless as a seven year old’s

everywhere we turn there are magazine covers featuring skinny,
smiling celebrities
who are trying to tell us how to lose twenty pounds in two months
so that we won’t have to suck in our stomachs so much next time we’re caught on the beach
taking group photos in our barely-there bikinis
so that we can document to all of the internet how happy we are in our freshly-waxed bodies
because GOD KNOWS that it isn’t real unless it’s edited
with some rip-off version of photoshop

if you ever DARE to think that we do it all for ourselves,
well then you need to re-evaluate because I’ve NEVER
known someone who’s enjoyed eating only almonds and kale
for five weeks straight
without the hope of some stupid boy one day calling her beautiful,
or who’s decided to spend six hours a day at the gym
just so she can lock herself in her room for the rest of her life,
because GOD KNOWS
that when i was shoving a dirty toothbrush down my throat
despite my generally-decent mental health,
i wasn’t doing it for my benefit
but for the benefit of those who decide what beautiful means,
who decide that women should be supple and soft,
small and delicate-boned
and preferably brainless so that MAYBE,
JUST MAYBE they’ll have a better chance of taking off my bra
and seeing the breasts that i have been reduced to.

so from me and all the other women,
or should i say pair of tits,
out there, here’s this:
fuck you and your pre-conceived notions of beauty
because GOD KNOWS you could use a good fuck