Not quite a woman...

Submitted by Marvin (Australia), Jan 26, 2010 at 23:42

Meghan, I'm afraid you're misunderstanding what happens when you go outside fully covered up. People aren't treating you like a woman. They're treating you like a live hand grenade that might go off at any moment. And why shouldn't they? They can't see who you are. They can't read your expression - which, after all, is the whole point of us having such wonderfully mobile faces, whether you believe they were made by god or nature. When you cover up, people don't know what you're hiding. For all they know, you might be the nicest person in the world, or you might be strapped with C4. It's the same feeling people get when a person walks into a bank wearing a motorcycle helmet. But all that aside, you're not helping yourself by covering up. You're not emancipating yourself. You're just hiding the problem. And you don't have to. Let it all hang out, speaking figuratively, and let people see who you are. Challenge them to accept you and feel for you. That's how other persecuted groups have done it - not by hiding away.

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