Thank you so much for sharing this piece. You were able to express some of my feelings that I found difficult to put into words.

Being raised Roman Catholic, there was a sense of shame in being anything but the Virgin Mary. We were expected to get married and have sex to procreate. Period. No one ever told me that sexuality was okay or normal. I dread those men who taught me to deny a part of myself for their ideology. I hope other girls will run fast from the shame heaped upon females and leave the church to a bunch of men. Maybe then they will look closely at the damage they have done-- when there is no one left to preach to.