I was watching this Jeff Ross comedy special yesterday. He visited this prison in Texas and performed standup for both the men and the women’s sections.

I noticed that the men laughed heartily and freely. And that when most of the women laughed, they covered their mouths. Whether or not they had good teeth. Why do we do that? Are we taught that it’s unladylike to open our mouths and throw back our heads and laugh with abandon? Why are we so damned apologetic about everything?

Laugh as loud as you want. Curse. Don’t give way when men walk by. Talk loud. Get angry. Express your opinions. Stop apologizing. Stop fucking saying sorry for breathing. Occupy the piece of the earth that you stand on with every cell in your body. Take up space. Let people deal with your existence. And stop covering your mouth when you laugh.