#4. write your own vagina monologue.

February, 2007

I don't use the words pussy, or cunt, or twat. There's something so harsh and vulgar about them, and she's more delicate than that, more sensitive. It's hard to come up with a term that will encompass her versatile nature; one that will touch upon her life-giving femininity as well as her erotic salty sweetness.

When I was not even fifteen, a boy told me to consider shaving better "down there". He was immature and clueless, but it left her bruised and helpless--a difficult thing to fix, but not impossible. She's doing better these days, mostly because I've grown wiser. But there are still times she doesn't comply when I ask her to listen to my heart.

And I know it hurts her every time I am embarrassed or unconfident to feel her full potential. And our relationship will be a life-long process, as I continue to fight for the acceptance of her wonderful identity: inevitably, she is a part of what makes you who you are.