“I still see red when I, as politely as possible, call these strangers out and someone says to me, ‘Keah, don’t be mean or tell made up stories because people are just curious. Be nice to them.’ The problem with trying to tell me how to cope with nearly constant eyes on my body when I enter a public space is this, I am not a science project. I was not made to be viewed, I hate the fact that I feel like I am on constant display, asked to answer for a body I did not choose but love all the while.”

“I don’t think I have to be nice to anyone who treats me like an object. I don’t think I owe those types of people my kindness, grace, or patience when they bring me only moments of shame and uncertainty… Often, I remember these people and moments long after they’ve forgotten about me and simply written me off as the limping girl they saw in X place.

“When I come across a particularly rude stranger… I don’t care if my anger startles them. I do not care about their curiosity. I care about the years it took me to get to a place where I liked my body and about not letting some strangers or their jokes and curiosity ruin that for me.

“I am not a teacher and it is not my job to educate”

“I tell my stories for the other people who look like me and want to see themselves and their narratives and I hope my work encourages them to share their own stories someday. I say all of this to say that curiosity is important but so is patience, kindness, and tact.”

Keah Brown

Keah Brown is an American author and journalist – you can read the article the quotes above come from here.

Find her at @keah_maria on on Instagram and twitter, and her website at keahbrown.com.