The Intergalactic Journey of Self-Acceptance

I was the best at everything.

There was no competition, because I had already won.

I was the fastest, the strongest, the most knowledgeable and just, in general, the best.

Alas, I was wrong.

Part of it was my fault for being so arrogant and all that, but let's be honest here: who would have expected a woman to beat me? Me, Theo Donnolla? Someone far more powerful than a mere woman. I mean, she wasn't even physically male; she had breasts and a vagina and everything!

Of course, I didn't know what a vagina was back then. I'm a Roman citizen and we Romans are very progressive when it comes to women (or at least as progressive as you can be when you're living in the second century). We treat women like men; we just treat them like men who can do nothing by themselves. We give them education, we let them work and earn an honest living for themselves but only if they marry or get widowed or something along those lines. Hell, we even let them vote - when their husbands were alive. When their husbands were dead... well... let's just say that things got complicated.

So yeah: I didn't know what a vagina was back then because I barely knew what sex was back then (except that it's something you do with men or boys so that they can put their babies inside your body). I got beaten by a woman in front of everyone in my village because I said that women should stay home while us men go hunting (it's not like they'd be any good anyway) and she replied with "I bet you that if we race right now you'll lose" and then she started running before I could agree or disagree with her idea. And then she lost the race because apparently running is something I'm very good at. Well, obviously so: I'm THEO DONNOLA! The fastest man alive! Who could ever beat me at running? Never mind how fit this woman was! She still lost!

And yet... here she was again saying how fast she is after my victory and how slow I am after her defeat. Seriously, I don't understand why people say "she" instead of "he" even though there's no one else around except for me and her and no one ever changes gender to another so... maybe it's just easier for them to think about themselves as female than male? Whatever the reason, she keeps calling herself "she" even though she has a penis and testicles! How can you be both? You either have one or the other! That's logic! How could someone think in such an illogical way?

In any case... this woman wouldn't stop arguing about how much better she is than me at running despite having lost to me fairly yesterday and now... today... losing again fairly but this time publicly in front of everyone in our village as proof that women aren't as adept when it comes to physical activities involving speed or strength because of their perceived weaknesses and societal expectations that men should protect them.

But then... things changed dramatically when that woman punched me right across the face before leaving the square where we used to gather every day after work before heading home. My nose started bleeding immediately which angered me more than anything else, regardless of how wounded my pride felt from her words which were more painful than anything else ever could be. Those words made me realize that maybe this woman wasn't wrong after all and perhaps, some of what she said might contain truth. Such thoughts made my blood boil, but at least my blood stopped flowing out of my nose, so I didn't look too bad.

Gradually, people's perception of me started to shift. They no longer viewed me as someone who could do no wrong, but as someone who had made a mistake in underestimating this woman. My friends, on the other hand, tried their best to reassure me that I was still Theo Donnolla, that I couldn't have possibly done anything wrong since I was perfect. They also laughed at my tears which threatened to make me look even more ridiculous.

Since then, the village was divided – some sided with my friends and others with my newfound enemy. This only served to fuel my fears about this new enemy who might end up hurting me badly if she managed to catch up with me. Consequently, my main concern became avoiding her during my journey back home after work each day. No matter what, I would do everything in my power to outrun her and prevent any further clashes between us.