CONTRADITIONS AND JUXTAPOSITIONS

MODEL: UNCREDITED, COSMOPOLITAN, DEC. 1983. BACKGROUND, Y.B.D. TEXT: Y.B.D.

Shy and sensitive, yes — but also, with a wild exhibitionist streak. See, it’s very easy for me to open up here, in a more or less anonymous venue, and put all sorts of cringe-worthy personal ideas and experiences into these postcards. But in real life? I’m pretty much the definition of a shrinking violet. Like I find it almost impossible to make eye contact and give a basic “hello” to acquaintances or passers-by. I never say a word in staff meetings, unless someone asks me a direct question. And I spend as much time as I possibly can at home, doing my little projects and house tasks, instead of “going out” and “meeting people,” like single women are supposed to do.

See, people are never all one thing or another. There are plenty of shy wallflowers like me who still hunger to be seen, in some small corner of their lives. Just like there are alpha men who secretly love to be dominated in the bedroom, or family-oriented moms who are drawn to the dark romance genre of books (which I have been told can get very, very dark).

YBD postcards are meant to celebrate the many paradoxes of human character and behavior. There’s nothing I love more than to slap down some sort of seemingly glaring contradition in a postcard… but then have the overall picture be one of beauty, harmony, and good humor. ❤️‍🔥—Y.B.D.