Do not call me exotic

Exotic is an odalisque in a painting. Stare at her, lust for her, she is beautiful and barbaric. Marvel at her private staged world for a small fee. Long for her mystery. She quenches aesthetic and carnal desire. She is an oasis in the strange, teeming, impoverished, and splendid land from where she comes.

She is not a companion. She is not a specimen to study and understand. To see her in full is to make her real. To unlock her mystery is to destroy her. The oasis is a mirage, come too close and she will disappear.


people talk about my image
like I come in two dimensions
like lipstick is a sign of my declining mind
like what I happen to be wearing the day
that someone takes my picture
is my new statement for all of womankind
- Ani DiFranco in her song “Little Plastic Castle”