Pen and Paper

 The Silent Pressure of Becoming successful. Nobody ever mentions it, but it is always present. During the interludes between the discussion. In a manner that individuals will question, “So... what are you doing now? In the silent comparisons that we make as we scroll through the lives of other people. The stress to make something out of oneself is seldom high-pitched. It doesn’t shout. It whispers. And that weighs it down somehow. Success Is No Longer a Dream It is a Deadline. Success ceased to be something we desired and something we were supposed to attain--so fast, so conspicuous, so much sooner than we had predicted, so much sooner than we should have imagined, so much sooner than we might have imagined, so much sooner, in a word, than we ourselves forecasted. It has an unspoken clock on it: At this age, you ought to have your purpose. At such an age, you have to be making good income. You should be settled. Recognized. Certain. And when you are not you begin to think you are ...

Why the Stare? A Critical Look at Desperation, Power, and the Male Gaze Why do some men stare? Not glance. Not notice. But stare   long enough to consume, long enough to reduce a human being into an object meant to absorb their desperation. Why should anyone become a screen for someone else’s hunger? Desperation Is Not Innocence Desperation is often framed as harmless — poor men, lonely men, touch-starved men. But desperation does not absolve responsibility. It does not suspend ethics. It does not grant permission. So the real question is not why they feel desperate , but: Why do they believe their desperation entitles them to someone else’s body, even visually? The Stare as an Assertion of Power A stare is never neutral. It is an act of dominance disguised as desire. It claims space. It intrudes. It forces presence without consent. When a man stares, he is saying: I can look, and you must endure. This is why women know the difference between admiration and threat. T...