My husband has opened my eyes to so many of the “little things” that constitute life in a place that will never fully accept you. And I find that being married to an Arab man bring a lot of attention onto ME. It might be specific to Arab male-white female relationships, but the amount of awkward “hoW do yOu dEaL with his waHmen-haTing cuLtUre” comments I’ve gotten is ridiculous (and ridiculously offensive).

The angry behavior and hostility we get in rural areas can be quite pronounced, but there are plenty of unpleasant and tense moments here in my extremely liberal home area too. Our love makes people uncomfortable.

I wish they’d turn that into an act of SELF questioning instead of looking for reasons to validate the feeling.