“A man’s face is his autobiography. A woman’s face is her work of fiction.”
― Oscar Wilde
I was sitting in the one room apartment in my underwear while sucking on a very long Twix stick. It was not because of the heat; it was actually quite chilly. My muscles were aching from sitting all day. Stupid desk job was ruining my eyes and my body. Like a car, I was unable to motivate myself to move again after nine hours of vegetating. I still could not figure out why so many man feel the need to call me princess.
As a child I liked dressing up as a princess for the carnival. I had no idea what a princess was, I did not care what others thought I looked like, I just liked, and still do, those ominous dresses. I like the feeling of sinking in layers of colourful fabric; hiding behind the sparkles; feeling the texture on every millimetre of my body. Every movement is instantly amplified and answered by a low rustle like a slow-motion picture. It’s a dance and an art and has nothing to do with the “job” princesses did. However, since I do not usually go out in expensive designer princess dresses, my question remains unanswered. Why the fuck do they call me princess?
I am not the most gracious woman. I still have trouble picturing me as a grown woman. I am not extremely genteel or virtuous; I am not slender or light-hearted. I admit I can be sweet and gay AF if I want to; I am bright and intelligent (although not many of them were). Not sure about the definition of beautiful and in my defence, not many princesses were charming. I do though expect a basic amount of decency from people.
Maybe it’s their way of telling me I’m too strict or I expect too much, but if they knew the standards, I hold myself to, they would think differently. These wishy-washy ideals, that have infested our culture have to come to an end. There is no harm in putting on a nice shirt or a tie or lipstick to go shopping if you want to. There is no harm in demanding – especially from man – more self-care. Generally speaking, women spend more time in the bathroom and are criticized for it, although men are happy when their girlfriends smell and look nice. The same cannot be said for men in these parts.
If we look at southern lands (speaking of Europe, in particular Italy but also Spain etc.) men tend to see more value in taking care of their bodies. They shave, use perfume and jewellery, different hair products, they get manicures and so on, and are often belittled for it in other countries.
In my opinion women should start getting up their expectations. Men don’t hesitate to tell us to shave or change into something more pretty, or to grow our hair long or to cut our hair. They criticize us so we can change our appearance accordingly. However, they seem to react strongly to criticism, probably because they are not used to it as much as we are. Honestly, I do not care if my hair is short or long, so I do not mind changing it, nevertheless I expect the same curtesy from the other end of the spectrum. And if all this makes me a princess, then I’m glad to go seek my prince or princess elsewhere.
Aromatic deception 