To kill a BuTTercup - Katie Burnett

But every day is Halloween when you are a woman, you are unsure of who is wearing a mask

When you reach a certain age you are taught to stay in after dark

You are taught to stay in a group wherever you go avoid alleys, clubs, and anywhere after 9pm Avoid candy corn grin men who will abduct you yet stick close to your male “friends” that wear capes of misogyny.

For they will shield you from rape culture they are nice guys as long as your skirt is not short, your bra is not showing, as you look good and play the part of an angel

You are taught to not to look like a woman who eats candy apples in the garden of good and evil

When will we stop teaching boys and girls that what a female chooses to wear is an indicator of her character and how you should address her

Her hemline does not scream “beg for it” her neckline does not cry out “consent” her ensemble does not ask you permission to approach her

I want to dispose of the phrase “boys will be boys” like wrappers on the day after Halloween.

I am tired of wearing my mask and living in fear I am fearful of my male peers, fearful they have hidden motives That night I feared for the girls who were alone, under the influence Who was watching them? Who lurked in the shadows? Who treated them with respect, or did they get tricked?