Summary

"Of #FastTailedGirls and Freedom" - To be a 'fast-tailed girl' is to be perceived as sexually precocious. Forty to sixty percent of Black American girls are sexually abused before age eighteen and they are often deemed "fast" in a form of victim-blaming. At other times, age-appropriate behaviors such as wearing makeup or uncontrollable factors such as going through puberty early can also cause a young girl to be perceived as fast. Mikki herself got in trouble with her parents when her pubescent body attracted the attention of grown men. For this reason, she never told her mother about her experiences with sexual assault and harassment. Girls of color and who are living in poverty are heavily impacted by the patriarchy, not only in terms of the abuse or deprivation they experience...