Fairy tales taught us that predators always lurk in the shadows. As preys, we must follow the rules, be careful and above all never, ever venture outside alone. 

Fairy tales taught us that a boy can kiss a girl in her sleep and that it will make her eternally grateful. They taught us that a father can wish to consummate his daughter and even that it is ok, as long as she is beautiful enough.

Fairy tales taught us that we should sell what we cherish most in order to achieve love. No, not love. The mere attention of a man. And this same man will “love” us without voice, without word, without thought, with nothing but a pretty smile and a pretty face. Fairy tales taught us that a woman with power is a witch and therefore necessarily alone, ugly and heinous. We learnt that we ought to be “good girls”, princesses. Sweet and soft, patient, discreet. Always aspiring, always waiting. Submissive.

Because witches are burnt, witches are killed. All through the Middle Ages, women burnt on stakes. All through the XVIth century. Because they were free. They spoke loud, they stood tall. Because they had medical knowledge, they were writing or reading books. Because they dared to gather outside of the male control. Burnt, in public, so that we could all understand that we should stick to our place. Far from sight, clostered, far from the smells of burning flesh. 

Fairy tales also taught us that other women were the true enemies. Every told tale built walls between our sisters and us, leaving each of us empty. Leaving each of us alone. Alone as preys. Alone at the mercy of these very predators that lurk and with a bite pretend to save us. Predators that devour us with their so called “love” that we are supposed to long for. These predators that desire and take us. Steal our voices, our lives, the end of our stories. “They got married and lived happily ever after”. This is our existences finished by their mere encounter, our abduction. Because what fairy tales really taught us is that, as women, we only exist through the care and service of men. As women, we only exist through our sacrifices to them. We are nothing but a tool, ready to be erased by the real “heroes”. In fact, fairy tales tried to teach us that we were nothing but objects. Toys for men to dispose of.

BUT WE ARE NOT. 

We are the strong granddaughters of the witches they could not burn. We are the proud champions of all our sisters across the world but above all we are us, the subjects of our own lives, the designers of our wishes, our dreams and desires, the creators of our paths. We live and grow and learn but we do not let the world teach us we are worthless. We won’t. 

NEVER AGAIN.