"when she was 7, a boy pushed her on the playground

she fell headfirst into the dirt and came up with a mouthful of gravel and lines of blood chasing each other down her legs

when she told her teacher what happened, she laughed and said ‘boys will be boys honey don’t let it bother you

he probably just thinks you’re cute’

but the thing is,

when you tell a little girl who has rocks in her teeth and scabs on her knees that hurt and attention are the same

you teach her that boys show their affection through aggression

and she grows into a young woman who constantly mistakes the two

because no one ever taught her the difference

'boys will be boys’

turns into

'that’s how he shows his love’

and bruises start to feel like the imprint of lips

she goes to school with a busted mouth in high school and says she was hit with a basketball instead of his fist

the one adult she tells scolds her

'you know he loses his temper easily

why the hell did you have to provoke him?’

so she shrinks

folds into herself, flinches every time a man raises his voice

by the time she’s 16 she’s learned her job well

be quiet, be soft, be easy

don’t give him a reason

but for all her efforts, he still finds one

'boys will be boys’ rings in her head

'boys will be boys

he doesn’t mean it

he can’t help it’

she’s 7 years old on the playground again

with a mouth full of rocks and blood that tastes like copper love

because boys will be boys baby don’t you know

that’s just how he shows he cares

she’s 18 now and they’re drunk

in the split second it takes for her words to enter his ears they’re ruined

like a glass heirloom being dropped between the hands of generations

she meant them to open his arms but they curl his fists and suddenly his hands are on her and her head hits the wall and all of the goddamn words in the world couldn’t save them in this moment

she touches the bruise the next day

boys will be boys

aggression, affection, violence, love

how does she separate them when she learned so early that they’re inextricably bound, tangled in a constant tug-of-war

she draws tally marks on her walls ratios of kisses to bruises

one entire side of her bedroom turns purple, one entire side of her body

boys will be boys will be boys will be boys

when she’s 20, a boy touches her hips and she jumps

he asks her who the hell taught her to be scared like that and she wants to laugh

doesn’t he know that boys will be boys?

it took her 13 years to unlearn that lesson from the playground

so I guess what I’m trying to say is

i will talk until my voice is hoarse so that my little sister understands that aggression and affection are two entirely separate things

baby they exist in difference universes

my niece can’t even speak yet but I think I’ll start with her now

don’t ever accept the excuse that boys will be boys

don’t ever let him put his hands on you like that

if you see hate blazing in his eyes don’t you ever confuse it with love

baby love won’t hurt when it comes

you won’t have to hide it under long sleeves during the summer

and

the only reason he should ever reach out his hand

is to hold yours"

—

Fortesa Latifi - Boys Will Be Boys

(And Why That Is The Stupidest Thing You Could Ever Say To A Little Girl)