Dr. Dena Simmons, New York City, USA, Blog Correspondent
Dear Men of New York City,
Please let me walk the streets without your sweet-nothings, your unwanted advances. I don’t care for the elaborate details of what you’d like to do to my body.
No, you cannot take a picture of my badankadonk,
lick my thighs,
suck my toes,
ravage me with your hard cock,
join me on my run,
have my number,
bang me silly.
No, no, no!
I am more than my body. I don’t owe you a smile, a thank you, or a hello. I am not a bitch for ignoring you. I don’t deserve your street-abuse just because I don’t give you my attention or affection.
Please, please, please let me walk down the streets without having to map out a route to avoid your verbal daggers. I don’t like the way you devour me with your eyes, the way you make me feel unsafe, the way you strip me of my humanity.
Your disrespect massacres me.
Please leave me alone. Please don’t touch me. Please let me walk in peace.
My body is not yours. I do not exist for your pleasure. I exist for me.
Respectfully,
Dena
Dr. Dena Simmons serves as the Associate Director of Education and Training at Yale’s Center for Emotional Intelligence. She is a recent graduate of Teachers College, Columbia University, where her research focused on teacher preparedness to address bullying in the middle school setting.
