Looking back, I can see now that as a female, I have always felt this internal tug of war going on. I had this feeling for a long time that I couldn’t quite articulate — a deep desire to be soft and tender. That’s what I wanted, but didn’t have words for, for a very long time. Because what I felt more than that, and what was more acceptable, was the need to be assertive and strong in a male-driven society. I felt like I had to harden the edges a bit to crowd out the constant
