The deeper meaning behind ‘It’s Only Natural’

When I got my sin for the anthology, I knew I didn’t want to explore lust through what felt like obvious choices. I sat with the idea of lust for weeks and decided to revisit the time in my own life when it was a strong energy pulsing through me.  Perhaps one of the most vulnerable times to have lust be such a center focal point in one’s life; high school.

I experienced high school teenage years in the early 2000’s. This was a time when my psychical features were not the most desirable and I wasn’t what most would consider overtly feminine in my appearance or the way I showed up. I was a “tom boy” for many years and I didn’t develop in the way my peers seemed to. I went to very white dominating schools and white beauty and culture were at the center point of them. I often felt overlooked and undervalued as a result. It was also a time when I believed physical beauty and the male gaze were the most powerful resources a young woman could have. If the boys wanted me, the girls wanted to be me, and I embodied the white beauty standard I would be not only be safe but my life would be “better”.

It’s not comfortable to admit our adolescent way of thinking but it’s honest. I always try to evoke honesty, the uncomfortable truths in my writing even if it’s, what do the kids say it these days? Cringe. I am sure we can all relate to this story in one way or another and maybe that’s the most horrifying part about it.

‘It’s Only Natural’ Examines: The violence of white beauty standards and desirability politics, and the brutal transition of adolescence. How puberty doesn’t just change your body, it pushes you into a new system where your worth is suddenly measured by how well you perform femininity and how much you’re desired by boys.

‘It’s Only Natural’ Exposes: The trauma of being ushered into womanhood through the male gaze, where hormonal changes and developing bodies become public property to be evaluated, ranked, and sexualized. It reveals how patriarchal culture teaches teenage girls that being sexually desirable isn’t just important, it’s survival, and that other girls are competition rather than allies in navigating this violent new landscape.

‘It’s Only Natural’ Asks: What does it mean when your changing body determines your social worth? When stealing someone else’s beauty feels like the only way to survive a system that suddenly makes you visible only if you’re desirable? And what does it say about us that for girls forced into this marketplace of flesh and attention, sometimes destruction feels like self-preservation?

‘Midnight in the Garden’ is a dark fiction anthology exploring the seven deadly sins with each story having a scene in a garden at midnight.

You can buy ‘Midnight in the Garden’ directly through Barnes and Nobels here or Amazon here.

Thank you for supporting my work.