In Africa they mutilate girls' genitals so that they can't enjoy ***.
Sometimes they just sew it shut.
They call it a ritual.
A ceremony.

In Gilead they give the women ugly dresses and make the wife stay in the room so it's not fun for either one.
They call a necessity.
A ceremony.

In Laguna Pueblo they relive their conquests. Remembering not the pleasure, but the power.
They tell it like it's a legend.
A ceremony.

At USAFA we read the stories. We feel bad. We do nothing.
There's nothing we can do.
Each one is just a story.
But it's a ceremony too.