Over the weekend, Ariana Grande shared a personal essay about "the double standard[s] and misogyny" faced by women. The singer started her piece by declaring that she’s sick of being treated as Big Sean’s accessory, even after they broke up several months ago. "I am tired of living in a world where women are mostly referred to as a man’s past, present, or future PROPERTY / POSSESSION," she wrote. "I… do not. belong. to anyone. but myself. and neither do you."
After that, Grande quoted the famous feminist Gloria Steinem, noted her own activist lineage, and attacked society's differential treatment of men and women by laying out a series of contrasts: "If a woman even TALKS about sex openly… she is shamed! But if a man talks or RAPS freely about all the women (or more commonly used “bitches/hoes”… how lovely) he’s had… he is regaled."
Grande is writing from a new-found place of strength, and hoping that her encouragement can help others achieve the same mindset: "I'm saying this after literally 8 years of feeling like I constantly had to have a boy by my side," she notes. "After being on my own now for a few months I am realizing that that's just not the case... I have never felt more grounded, present, and satisfied."
Taylor Swift approved.
