Dear Readers, As many of you have noticed and complained about, Bekhsoos has been on a break for a while now. We apologize for… more »

I am a dirty mouth who needs to be silenced.

This is what constitutes my parents’ most profound struggle when, before our family Sundays, they remind me every time to “watch it”, keep my mouth shut, and smile. It also must be what my college teachers think of me in the back of their heads when they shake it in reprobation, calling me twisted and other equally dismissive verdicts that always start with: “You need help”. Even among my lesbian friends, I’m always “too much”.

She was my best childhood friend. Our mothers were both immigrants in the city where we grew up. My mum read in her… more »