My advice to young women (although you do have to experience it, sadly)

You’re not stupid, but you are very young

Ok yes. I’m still young. I’m still in my twenties. But I look at women in their late teens to mid twenties, and shudder at the naivety and vulnerability we’re not aware we have. There’s a kind of bravado that comes with being the shiny new thing in the office, but one that is tainted with false security and an ignorance over what men actually see and want from you.

No married men, cheaters, bosses, clients, or bad boys

I’m not blaming you. I mean, I fell for it. We all fell for it: to some degree. Your grandmothers probably did, and your great, great grandmothers probably did before them. You’re not an idiot, you’re just young and part of a world that refuses to actually discuss that weird grey lumpy area between grooming and flirtation, and abuse of power and desirability. But here is what I wish I’d known at 21, even though I know I’d have written this off as cynical nonsense from a bitter 27 year old crone. It’s one of those things you only learn after being thrown gasping into the unforgiving waters of love, desire, and lust. Here we go.