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  • Dear Daddy, I just wanted to thank you for looking after me so well, even though I'm not yet born.

  • I know you already try harder than Superman.

  • You won't even let Mommy eat sushi.

  • But I need to ask you a favor.

  • Warning: it's about boys.

  • Because, you see, I will be born a girl, which means, that by the time I'm 14, the boys in my class will have called me a whore, a bitch, a cunt, and many other things.

  • It's just for fun, of course.

  • Something boys do.

  • So you won't worry.

  • And I understand that.

  • Perhaps you did the same when you were young, trying to impress some of the other boys.

  • I'm sure you didn't mean anything by it.

  • Still, some of the people won't get the joke.

  • And funnily enough, it isn't any of the girls. It's some of the boys.

  • So by the time I turn 16, a couple of the boys will have snuck their hands down my pants while I'm so drunk I can't even stand straight.

  • And although I say no, they just laugh. It's funny, right?

  • If you saw me, Daddy, you would be so ashamed.

  • Because I'm wasted.

  • No wonder I'm raped when I'm 21.

  • 21 and on my way home in a taxi driven by the son of a guy you went swimming with every Wednesday.

  • The guy who always told insulting jokes but they were of course only jokes so you laughed.

  • Had you known that his son would end up rapping me

  • you would've told him to get a grip.

  • But how could you know?

  • He was just a boy telling weird jokes, and in any case, it wasn't your business.

  • You were just being nice.

  • But his son raised on these jokes becomes my business.

  • Then finally, I meet Mr. Perfect.

  • And you're so happy for me, Daddy, because he really adores me.

  • And he's smart with a great job and all through the winter he goes cross country skiing three times a week just like you.

  • But one day, he stops being Mr. Perfect and I don't know why.

  • Wait, am I overreacting?

  • One thing I do know: I'm not the victim type.

  • I'm raised to be a strong and independent woman.

  • But one night, it's just all too much for him.

  • With work, and the in-laws, and the wedding coming up.

  • So he calls me a whore.

  • Just like you called a girl in middle school a whore once.

  • And then another day he hits me.

  • I mean, I'm way out of line.

  • I can really be a bitch sometimes.

  • But we're still the world's greatest couple and I'm so confused because I love him and I hate him and I'm not sure if I really did do something wrong.

  • And then one day he almost kills me.

  • It all goes black.

  • Even though I have a PhD, a fantastic job, I'm loved by my friends and family, I'm well brought up, and nobody saw this coming.

  • Dear Daddy, this is the favor I want to ask.

  • One thing always leads to another.

  • So please stop it before it gets the chance to begin.

  • Don't let my brothers call girls whores.

  • Because they're not.

  • And one day some little boy might think it's true.

  • Don't accept insulting jokes from weird guys by the pool, or even friends.

  • Because behind every joke, there is always some truth.

  • Dear Daddy, I know you will protect me from lions, tigers, guns, cars, and even sushi without even thinking about the danger to your own life.

  • But dear Daddy, I will be born a girl.

  • Please do everything you can so that that won't stay the greatest danger of all.

Dear Daddy, I just wanted to thank you for looking after me so well, even though I'm not yet born.

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