I want to begin by acknowledging those men that will read this and say, "I would never assume a woman is promiscuous just because she is a woman of color."

Or even those that are not men, but doubt that any decent person would make such an assumption. I am not claiming that anybody intentionally seeks a woman of color for these reasons. What I am saying is that our society functions, and has functioned for centuries in a way that specifically overly sexualizes women of color.

Yes, this is a societal issue, but that does not give reason to continue these practices. Educate yourself. Ignorance is not bliss.

By the age of thirteen, I began hearing the following statements from boys and men alike.

"I bet you're freaky."

"Don't act like you're innocent."

"I can just tell you're wild."

I had not even entered high school and I was already being sexualized. At the time, I had no idea what any of this meant. Hell, I was still a child, why would I?

And I cannot forget my favorite...

"I love exotic women."

Excuse me, what? Oh yes, Southern Indiana is very exotic. You thought I said India? No, but I do come from the deepest of cornfields in the Midwest.

Perhaps being called exotic isn't too bad, right? Wrong. I think that's the one that always gets to me the most. By saying that, all women of color are lumped together. We are stripped of our identity, but even worse, we are stripped of our humanity. No longer are we viewed as women but as objects of sexual desire.

By being exotic, a distance is created. We belong to a different, far off world. A world less valued.

Before I could even comprehend the changes that my body was going through I was forced into womanhood by others. My shirts with "Aeropostale" branded across them and my multi-colored mouth full of braces didn't keep the men at the mall from following me from store to store. See to them, all of that was invisible. All they saw was brown skin and a girl barely pubescent, but pubescent at the least.

I hear more and more often that girls these days act like grown women –– they are sexualizing themselves. But let me just tell you that when my mother sat down to have "the talk" with me I nearly burst into tears. She used a picture book that showed the progression of animals mating –– chickens to dogs to humans. This was probably the least aggressive version of "the talk" to take place and I still wasn't ready for it. It was a topic I wasn't even thinking about.

Looking back, I think she had "the talk" with me at this point because society decided it was time. She was preparing me for a world no child should have to be part of.

So, I ask, about these girls that we say act like women, have we considered that maybe they are a product of society?

This phenomenon takes occurs across all "exotic" cultures and societies.

Black women are labeled as "Black Bimbos" –– women that couldn't possibly want to say no. They are viewed as nothing more than a baby-pusher. Good enough to impregnate, but not good enough to stick around for.

Asain women are sexualized specifically for their "young and innocent" appearance. Often, they are coupled with the schoolgirl persona, yet they are still painted as sex-crazed.

Latina women are marked as feisty; they are hard to control. This narrative exists where although Latina women appear independent, they want to be dominated. They are even a better treat because their spiciness transfers to the bedroom, right?

The list goes on and on.

All these stereotypes circle back to the idea that women of color are viewed as less of a woman that the white woman.

In fact, they are often not recognized as women at all. Because historically, we have been used as sexual pawns in a game of territory. We have been used and abused in the name of convenience. You see, to be a woman of color is to be at the very lowest part of the food chain.

What I choose to do with my body should not be predetermined by the color of my skin. There is no reason a girl should be forced into womanhood because society decided it was time.

Men, boys, whomever- "I bet you're freaky" should NEVER be your go-to pickup line.

1. Uh, why is that any of your concern?

2. That is absolutely s.l.e.a.z.y. (and not in the acceptable Kesha way).