Issue 08
flash fiction
“When a Woman Rapes a Woman”
by Emily Ezzo
“Windward Windows 6” by Damien Jackson
Nobody really cares about this, kid. You weren’t raped. I’ll tell you that much. You lesbians need to calm the fuck down. I mean, really. What more do you want? A Lesbian Day of Mourning? A Lesbian’s Do Get Raped Day?
Give me a break, kid.
A woman didn’t “rape” you. Don’t say that. Women can’t rape. A woman can’t possibly rape another woman. A woman did not rape you.
Don’t you know, little lesbian, how lucky you are? You get to BE with other women! Your ancestors couldn’t go home with a woman and suck on her breasts and then claim rape.
Fucking listen.
Queer people fought for your rights. They fought for your dykehood. Queer people fought for your right to be dominated by another woman. Besides—you like when a woman takes control! You’ve talked about it over and over.
Well, what do you mean she “raped” you? Did she stick her fingers in too roughly? Aw, that must have been so painful. You poor thing.
(Do you hear me laughing?)
She didn’t RAPE you!
SHUT THE FUCK UP.
Women can’t rape women.
Can you even do a rape kit?
“Rape,” from the Latin word, “rapio,” meaning, “to snatch, to take away.” So, what did she take away? An orgasm? Couldn’t find your G-spot?
Oh, fuck off. You’re being dramatic.
You KNOW you wanted her. You said you wanted her.
She was a beautiful woman, and she smelled like cinnamon.
You wanted her.
Kid. Hey. Listen.
“Lesbian” comes from “Sappho.”
Right? So, listen.
Listen.
Dyke.
Sappho had to say goodbye to every woman she ever loved. You don’t have to: say goodbye. You get to cuddle and kiss and hold and love the loveliest ladies you’ve ever seen. So, cut it out. Nobody wants to read about lesbian rape.
You weren’t “raped.” Close your mouth, bitch.
You don’t get to say #MeToo.
How dare you compare yourself to women who were hurt so much worse?
*
Emily Ezzo graduated from Rutgers University in 2019 with a double major in English and Classical Humanities. Prior to attending Rutgers, she graduated from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, where she studied musical theatre and acting. Her fiction has appeared in Soliloquies Anthology, Bluntly Magazine, and Caustic Frolic. Her latest publication is forthcoming in Peculiar: A Queer Literary Journal. Find her on Twitter at @mrskamalaharris.
Born in Gibraltar to West Indian parents, Damien Jackson came to photography late in life. His dad gave this self-taught photographer his first camera so he could capture important moments in his children's lives. Growing up in a West Indian neighborhood in Brooklyn and then attending Fisk University, an HBCU in Nashville, TN, has given him a unique perspective of the Black experience. As a result, he tries to tell the very diverse and unique stories of Black and brown people in America and worldwide. Find him on Instagram at @damien.jackson06.