We were respectable.13 We went to church and paid tithes and wore slips and we drank but had the good sense to be ashamed that we did. - Tressie McMillan Cottom

Decades before I valued myself enough to be careful for myself, I was careful so that my mother would not worry.

But if I believe that I can become beautiful, I become an economic subject. My desire becomes a marker.

One of the few surveys of public attitudes about black girls was conducted in 2014.4 The majority of those surveyed said that black girls need less protection and nurturing than white girls. Being perceived as grown comes with consequences even when you are not yet an adult.