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 !