There's a common flaw in women that is, simply put, the need to please. We find, maybe at puberty when we recognize boys, that we have a role and we need to perform. Every day's an audition and not everyone is making callbacks. Auditions, however, are mandatory. Even the chicks I thought were immune buckled in their own way. The pressure started early and doesn't begin to diffuse until late.

Imagine, or remember, being a twenty-something female. Cruel age. Cruel noun. I don't know very many autonomous, confident, purely self-driven young women. We're all puppets in one way or another. The outward independence hides the strings of a marionette. Someone or something makes us dance.