When I was a girl, my parents had two absolute, don’t-even-bother-challenging-them-because-you’re-never-going-to-win rules in our house: No telephones in the bedroom and no TVs in the bedroom. I tried everything: begging, withdrawing, threatening to run away. I even had my bags packed up once, and sat with them on the porch while I waited for a […]
I never was a fan of parading girls around in pink. It’s not that I don’t like pink. It’s a fabulous color for cotton candy, feather boas, and Virginia ham. But I’ve always had a problem with society’s narrow definitions of beauty and especially femininity. If I was going to have a girl, I didn’t […]
“Agua,” my mother said to me as she held out a glass. She refused to release it from her grip until I relented, but I walked away with a dry mouth rather than say the word “water” in Spanish. I was about 5 years old and quickly learned the comeback that was my only sure […]