Tshab Her

@tshabher — 6/30/2020

Through the framework of what I know from evangelical Christianity, it’s been hard navigating what it means to be a follower of Jesus, especially when it includes experiences with people who’d rather condemn than be present and to love. As someone who resonates with the tweets on slides 3-5, I decided to share them because these conversations need to be normalized, especially in the Christian community.

I’ve been thinking about the tweets for a few days now and hesitated on sharing them because it puts me in a vulnerable position I don’t know if I am ready for. But when I thought about other women who may have similar experiences, I couldn’t not say something. And even more importantly, when I shared this with my friend, they reminded me that MY own body has traumas that need to be lamented and therefore I couldn’t not say something for ME. When I was triggered by these tweets, I automatically thought of other women who have similar experiences and wanted to share for them and how easily did I forget that I also need to advocate for myself. There is power in using my voice to unpack the stigmas around sex, especially for the Christians or conservatives who follow my account.

I’m not going to go into detail about my story rn, but I want to say that I see, support, and believe you. It’s fucked up. We need to release what we have internalized for so long—that men do not have the right to tell us what to do with our bodies, that we are not obligated to give them anything, and that we can no longer give basic ass men access to our bodies. What some may not understand is that sometimes, it’s just easier to not say anything because when we do—we are left with navigating the reactions of fragile men and toxic masculinity.