En•fem•e No. 9:: Reborn

I have died in every way a woman can die: by silence, by duty, by the slow erosion of ‘yes.’ I have been the good daughter, the patient lover, the quiet genius. I buried them all last winter.

(Visual: Fast cuts of you destroying a symbol of your past self—cutting hair, wiping off old makeup, ripping a calendar.) Audio: “I tried to be soft for you. I tried to be small.” en•fem•e no. 9: reborn

This is a powerful title. En Femme No. 9: Reborn suggests a journey—specifically, the 9th iteration of a personal or artistic evolution. "En Femme" (French for "in woman") implies a connection to femininity, identity, or the divine feminine, while "Reborn" indicates transformation, shedding an old skin, and emergence. I have died in every way a woman

I do not ask for permission anymore. I ask for space. I take it. I wear my rebirth like a second skin—still tender, still bleeding at the edges, but finally mine. I tried to be small

En Femme No. 9 is not a return. It is a stranger wearing my face with better posture.