I knew that being less than perfect was to be ignored.  I knew it was irritating, but I learnt I couldn’t be flawed.

I was the girl who noticed Disney has costumes for male Power Rangers, a super-hero only falls for the thief, a woman his equal but opposite, to give him character.

I grew up watching movies in seventy-six percent of which the hero was male. Women met bad ends if fat, spirited or bright, but rewarded if beautiful and fragile.

I didn’t know how else to speak, the male gaze made me and hates me.  I wanted to fail, to be human, to be there, to tell a story, be a part of the plot, to be me.

Emma Lee’s publications include “The Significance of a Dress” (Arachne, 2020) and “Ghosts in the Desert” (IDP, 2015). She co-edited “Over Land, Over Sea,” (Five Leaves, 2015), is Poetry Reviews Editor for The Blue Nib, reviews for magazines and blogs at http://emmalee1.wordpress.com. Twitter@Emma_Lee1