#especially when you find out michaela based this on her own experience 💔

[supercalifragipopculturevomit]

"Prior to being raped, I never took much notice of being a woman. I was busy being Black and poor. Daring to observe the hazard my gender may pose to my freedom and survival feels like a betrayal to the council flat I was born and raised in, where hardship was no respecter of genitals and a little brother was as starved of food and love as his sister. When I think about the Met Police Force, and the chronic racism that cripples it, the fact that I opened my mouth to tell them someone did a little rape in there, feels felonious in itself. The bible says “you cannot serve two masters.” Am I too late to serve this tribe called women? Do I actually understand what it is to be a woman struggling? A little rape in the mouth is a walk in the park when other girls are currently being stoned to death for having mobile phones, are bleeding to death after genital mutilation, are looking at a womb irreparably destroyed by militias systematically raping them during times of civil conflict and war. Are these facts a humbling reminder not to be so loud about my experiences, or are they a reminder to shout? Can my shout help their silent screams? Is it time to serve a new tribe? I hope one day to know."

~Arabella Essiedu, I May Destroy You (2020)