Rarely do women get to be the center of attention. When women are involved, they are sidekicks, the romantic interests, the afterthoughts. Movies, more often than not, tell the stories of men as if men’s stories are the only stories that matter. Singers like Robin Thicke know “we want it.” Rappers like Jay-Z use the word “bitch” like punctuation. We have all manner of music glorifying the degradation of women, and damnit, that music is catchy so I often find myself singing along as my very being is diminished. We have a comedian asking his fans to touch women lightly on their stomachs because ignoring personal boundaries is oh so funny. The cultural climate is shifting, particularly for women as we contend with the retrenchment of reproductive freedom, the persistence of rape culture, and the flawed if not damaging representations of women we’re consuming in music, movies, and literature.

These bewildering changes often leave us raw. The world changes faster than we can fathom in ways that are complicated.