Sit up straight
chest out
Legs together
DON'T SLOUCH

smile,
Smile,
YOU SHOULD SMILE MORE
you'd look prettier

Brush your hair,
tight bun,
no stray hairs,
you'll look sloppy
no Man wants a girl like that

you should eat less
no Man wants a girl who eats too much
don't eat that
that's the reason for your stretch marks
you'll get fat
don't be fat
No Man wants a fat girl.


don't wear short skirts we don't want to see that...cellulite

LOSE WEIGHT
LOSE WEIGHT
LOSE WEIGHT
LOSE WEIGHT
LOSE WEIGHT
...she's too skinny
"she looks anorexic haha"

Ew pimples,
dark circles under your eyes!
COVER THEM UP.

"Why are you wearing make up?
I only like girls with "natural" makeup",

don't wear that red lipstick
you'll look like a *****.

"Dude she is such a **** look how short her dress is"

"She's such a *****, show some leg, you're not a nun"

"She should loosen up, take a few shots, she's so up tight"

"Look at how much she has had to drink, she's so loose"

Men don't like girls who...yell
Men don't like girls who...swear
Men don't like girls who...drink
Men don't like girls who...smoke
Men don't like girls who...wear too much
Men don;t like girls who...wear too little
Men don't like girls who...play hard to get
Men don't like girls who...are too easy
Men don't like girls who...eat too much
Men don't like girls who...don't eat
Men don't like girls who...are too clingy
Men don't like girls who...don't give them attention
Men don't like girls who...
Men don't like girls who...
Men don't like girls who...

STOP

I am a WOMEN.

Each sunday,
the owner's face lit up
as I popped in the neighborhood bodega
in need of paper towels, soap, toothpaste.

Occasionally, when I uttered the word “purple,”
his brown eyes glowed and he flashed me a smile
as he fetched the Trojan condoms behind the counter.

This week,
I came in on saturday,
he looked pleasantly surprised to see me,
earlier in the week.
until I reached the counter
holding tampons, desperate to stop my leaking body.

In my humanity,
I was no longer ****,
not worthy of a smile.
Nor the well wishes of a nice evening.

His greetings had always had an invisible price tag,
exchanged for a glimmer of hope.

The hope that his kind words would
earn him a discount in the time it took

for me to live up
to his fantasy
one day.