THIS. Since I was age 12, when my figure began to develop, I gained weight, and I went from long, lean and straight to a bust-line that would have made Dolly Parton proud (and got called that a LOT on the bus), I have been subjected to various levels of street harassment. It didn’t make me feel good, I didn’t feel desired, I didn’t feel attractive. It made me want to shrink into myself, hunch my shoulders to try and reduce the projection of my bust, and simply disappear. It took the influence of a wonderful teacher in high school, nicknamed “Torpedo Tits” by the boys because of her proud, high, ample bust line (complete with bullet-shaped bras) to help me change. Broad shouldered, heavy bust, tall — I couldn’t hide if I wanted to (and at times, I wanted to) but she helped teach me to be proud of how I was shaped and to be proud of myself. I will forever be grateful to her.

“ We so often hear the harassment stories of such a narrow slice of people — usually young, usually women, usually able-bodied, usually thin. To dig up the roots of this violence, we can’t just listen to the stories that sound familiar. We can’t just commiserate. We have to stretch beyond our experiences. We have to hear from more of us. We have to embrace the complexity of the phenomenon that so viciously targets so many of us”

Again, THIS. It’s not exclusive to the thin, the young, the able-bodied. I have stood against it in the past, and will continue to stand (and speak) against it in the future. Thank you for the reminder…I will stretch beyond my experiences and embrace the complexity.