Giney Villar
Are our bodies temples or weapons?
Do our bodies bring pleasure or betrayal?
Are our bodies to be sacrificed or celebrated?
Are our bodies made of earth or stardust?
As a woman, lesbian, and butch, I have had a complicated relationship with my body.
As a child, I was bombarded with images of beauty. I wasn’t bought a bike after I outgrew my three-wheeler because my legs might get scarred. Indoor sports and dancing were okay, but not basketball, which was too rough for girls.
In the summer between 3rd and 4th grade, I declared myself “lesbian.” I read the word in a book we had at home and decided that, that is what I was, even without fully comprehending the implications of the word. It just felt right. It felt so right, I committed it to paper:
My name is Ma. Ge
