Zaina Arafat

It occurred to me in that moment to question why, as a man, his bare legs were somehow less troubling than mine. It was a double standard, a shame I had simply accepted until then. In acquiring my gender, I had become offensive

It was exactly how I felt my own heart had been treated throughout my life—carelessly, callously

One must proceed cautiously and always be on the lookout, always withhold information and never reveal something that can later be used as ammunition. Never get too close because that’s when she’ll shoot. And if she does, always have an escape plan. It is essential to remember these rules. Yet this is the realm, the realm of my mother, in which I consistently forget how to survive.