You are 8 years old
A boy pushes you on the playground
And it makes you cry
You scrape your knee
But when you go and tell and adult
They just smile and say
Hes just doing it because he likes you and doesnt know how to handle it
Because after all boys will be boys
You are 11 years old
In a school with older boys
And you hear them talking about other girls
In a way that makes you skin crawl
But when you ask your friends about it
They shrug and say who cares
And you see how the older girls are kind of flattered by the attention
And you think there are better ways to get a girls attention
But everyone just says it’s how the world works
Because after all boys will be boys
You’re 14 years old
Getting used to a body that’s starting to look different
And you feel uncomfortable in your own skin
It’s the first time you hear a cat call
You’re not sure if it was directed at you
You’re not sure why no one else looked disturbed by it
Because you looked around to see if anyone would say anything
But no one did
You think you are starting to understand what people are willing to just accept
Because after all boys will be boys
You’re 17 years old
And your friends tell stories of other girls
Who dont look quite so alive anymore
And you ask what will be done about it
And they say nothing
Because the girls have been taught to be quiet about it
And the world has accepted that things like this just happen sometimes
And theres no way to prove it
So everyone just moves on with their lives
And tells the girls they should have been more careful
They should have known better
Because after all boys will be boys
You’re 20 years old
Thinking back on all the times you heard the phrase
Boys will be boys
And you wonder when you just started to accept that
You wonder when all the boys you used to know realised it worked as an excuse
But you swear that if a girl ever comes up to you and says a boy pushed her
You will not tell her it is okay
You will tell her to walk away from him because she deserves to be treated better
And you will tell him that it was wrong and not to ever do it again
So she learns that
Love is not meant to hurt
And he learns the same
