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2010/07/06

What it takes to beat a stereotype ..

Been tagged by Dipali and Ceekay to note down things which show the shades of Yang in me . I am guilty of not having been a tomboy in my shadowy childhood and youth - I never climbed a tree , nor could I learn how to cycle - I fell off 15 times in one afternoon - I could drive, but Ashis certified me unfit to drive because of his personal neuroses which seemed to magnify every time I took the wheel . I could go on and on ....

But no I am not an "abala nari" and I have always believed in personal freedom, spaces and the ability to do things on my own . I also do not believe in gender stereotypes and-firmly believe that each person has to end up being able to carry out functional jobs without depending on others .
I do not differentiate between blue and pink and both my girls have worn both shades happily when they were infants .

However -
  1. I love to whistle and do it quite well
  2. I take very long strides when I walk . I have never minced or sashayed
  3. I can change a fuse and have done it often when I lived in the hostel
  4. I love gizmos and I am the one who connects new electronic gadgets and gets them working , reads the literature and understands the working and can actually get a screwdriver to work without being all thumbs about it .
  5. For a long time I have been a lone woman in a male dominant office and juniors often call me "sir"
  6. I have no problems with travelling alone , staying in strange places on my own and moving around on my own in a strange place .
  7. I DO NOT NEED anyone to chaperone me around anywhere ( read I don't need AG as a permanent escort ) and am happy when left to my own devices .
  8. I can change light bulbs , provided that they are not too high up . When the drawing room bulb blacks out , I climb on to the window sill , reach up and change it
  9. I move the furniture around when it is required and do not recall AG ever condescending to help me . Anyway I would rather have him out of the way when I get around to doing such things .
  10. I believe in wearing out a pair of sandals/slippers / shoes before starting on another and cannot be bothered to co ordinate my outfits( not that I look bad ) . In fact the day I co ordinate, my colleagues' collective jaw drops .
  11. I forgot to add that I often swear like a stevedore on shore leave which prompts my friends ( including Dipali ) and family to say "Language , Ruma " !
I am sorry I do not have a son because I would have ensured that he cook, serve, sew a button , wash the dishes and so on and so forth and generally make himself useful around the house . While I am supposed to tag people I will just leave it as an open option as I am sure others would have similar stories - so do examine yourselves and hold forth !

8 comments:

La Figlia Che Piange said...

That last paragraph is RICH considering that I know neither how to cook, knit or sew and nor how to change lightbulbs. I suppose my ineptitude is, at least, gender neutral. Haha.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

The thought did occur to me but you'll fall into that particular rut .Wait and see . However cooking /cleaning jobs are just one part of the great feminine stereotype.
You conform to the great tradition of your great aunts and sundry mashis and cousins so don't worry .

Banno said...

Nice. Tagged you, then realized you'd already done it.

Sharmila said...

Abala nari ... Lol. You definitely do not sound like one Eve di. Way to go! :-)
I can change light bulbs ... but guess that's where the Yang part in me ends. :p

hillgrandmom said...

With you there EL on almost all the points except the working in an office one and the whistling one :-)

dipali said...

Soul sister:)
Much in common:)
Including cheeky kids:):):)

the mad momma said...

:) but we love your swearing Ruma Mashi. Who else would keep me company?