It's ALL men.

Picture this, you're on your way home and it's dark out. You hold your keys in your hand, you watch your shadows and look all around, you hold your breath and you hold your bag tighter to your chest. You walk quickly, you keep to the lighted areas. You don't relax for even a second until you're in your home. You're safe this night, what about the next one?

Picture this, you're 12 and walking home, a man approaches you and you don't understand why at first. But your breath speeds up, and your body become tense. You look ahead and try not to make eye contact as he keeps pace with you. Nod along as he talks to you, you're polite hoping he leaves you alone. He asks for your email and you say you don't have one. He watches you almost until you enter your home, you tell your mom and you don't sleep that night.

Picture this, you're in highschool and you cover up because you just feel wrong otherwise. Your teacher rubs your shoulders and you feel his breath next to your neck, it smells and his hands feel like an iron band around you. He lets go and you're left feeling sick while he feels nothing.

Everyday you sit there and listen to the world telling you what it thinks of you. The films, the music, the tv shows, the ads, the teachers, your family, your friends, all the men and boys around you. Telling you; you're not pretty enough, not smart enough, not sweet enough, not strong enough, not funny enough. Just plain not enough.

Telling you to give more, be more accommodating,be more to the world, give up more of yourself. Change yourself, make yourself small, don't be too loud, don't take up too much space. Do this for them, don't complain. It's always you who has to change, it's always you who has to bear the weight of it all, to break under it and no-one cares.

Give him a chance they say, don't be paranoid they say. Stop being a prude, don't be a whore either. Save it for your husband, nobody wants a girl who doesn't give it up, it's not like they care about your personality. Your dress is too long, and then it's too short. It always changes, what they want from you, what they want you to give up for them...to them. How they want you to give it up. They want whatever you have, whatever you are, and they want to leave you with nothing, to be nothing.

Don't ruin his life they say. She was asking for it they say. Jealous. Bitter. She was crazy they say. They blame your clothes, why were you there, why didn't you be careful,why didn't you watch your drink, why didn't you leave him, why didn't you speak up, why didn't you stop it. It's never them, it's always you, one way or another they blame you.

Not all men they say. It's not me they say. I wouldn't, couldn't, didn't. Except you did, you have and if the opportunity is there, you will. What did you take from her when she wasn't in the mood, and you badgered her until she didn't have the voice to say no anymore. When you called out to her when she was walking home. "Hey baby where you going!" you hollered, when she was on the way to; school, to work, to her home. What did you take when you put your hand on her waist, her butt, her neck and wherever else, when you were her boss, her teacher, her mentor, her friend. What did you take with your jokes, with your callousness, with your dismissal. What did you take when you screamed and slammed the doors. What did you take when she looked uncomfortable, when she didn't want it, when she said no, when she meant no.You knew she didn't want it. So what did you fucking take. And still you say it's not all men, that it wasn't you. That you're not that guy.

It was YOU.You're the rapist. You're the abuser. Why didn't YOU STOP. Why didn't you leave her alone. Why didn't you listen to no. Why didn't you keep your hands to yourself. Why didn't you protect her! You're her father/brother/grandfather/uncle/friend/husband. She was your daughter! Your friend! Your sister! Your wife! Where WERE YOU! Why did you hurt her! It's not you? BULLSHIT it wasn't you. It was you.

It's all women, all of us. It was me.You made me feel unsafe. You belittled me. You took the air from my lungs, claimed it for yourself because to you I didn't deserve to have anything of my own. It's all of you. What you do to us everyday, what you've done to my sisters, my mothers, my friends, my colleagues, my fellow women and girls. What you've taken, and what you've turned a blind eye to. It's you,with every choice you make it's you. Stop the jokes, stop looking the other way, stop the pain,stop taking, forcing, breaking.

We're tired. And we're angry. We're DONE with #allwomen. We're fighting back, I'm fighting back. We won't be quiet, we won't stay small. We're going to be LOUD. You're not listening? You never were. But she's listening, I'm listening, they're listening, we're all listening to each other. Talking to each other, helping each other, protecting each other. My fellow women and girls together. We are strong. We are enough. We are powerful. We're here and we won't be silenced and made small.

Edit: Thank you everyone for the awards, I'm glad this resonated with so many of you.