Yay! I got tagged by DI and this is my first tag. This is a tag called Sinners Against Gender Stereotypes. Being my first tag and all, it could not have been more apt, given the fact that I lived like the book definition of tomboy for some good 10 – 12 years.
Now to the analysis of how and in what ways I have defied being a gender stereotype.
1. Ahem... Let me start with a sampler: In the building that we lived in, there was a narrow and high fenced corridor in the backyard. The entrance to that corridor always remained locked and the watchman had the keys. Sometimes clothes put out to dry in the balcony, fell inside this corridor.. sometimes, kids when playing, used to drop their toys there by mistake. Whenever the watchman (having the keys to this corridor) was not around, and it became imperative to retrieve the “fallen” stuff immediately, people would come to me. From the 1st floor balcony, I used to aim and take a jump to land on the window sill of the ground floor (facing this corridor), jump on to a tank from there, hold on to a PVC pipe, take a mighty swing and land perfectly in that corridor. I used to get back to first floor with the same ease. From age 9, till I turned 12, I performed this feat nonchalantly, as and when the neighbours requested. Finally my parents intervened in a big way and I had to stop offering this service. What kind of a kid I was, I now leave it to your imagination.
2. Also, as a kid, I always belonged in the boys’ gang. Have played more gully cricket than any other game. The adventures I’ve had with the boys’ gang is worth a separate post in itself. In case you are wondering, it included stuff like, leading them on an expedition to a deserted house to investigate certain things(of course inspired by the Secret Sevens and Famous Fives), climbing a 25 ft bamboo structure, going around “bhoot” bungalows in the night for winning a bet, etc...
3. I’ve never had a fascination for dolls or teddy bears.
4. I used my skipping rope to lasso mangoes and bhels and pluck them from trees.
5. My weird dressing sense (read boy like and also thank me for not going into the details) and a few mannerisms earned me the nickname “Porukki”(rough equivalent to tapori) in college. The same set of friends have also been kind enough to remind me every now and then that words like graceful, eloquent, etc when prefixed with my name, sounds oxymoronic.
6. I never had a liking for make up or jewellery.
7. Have travelled in footboard of buses; have travelled in auto sitting in the front seat... (i.e., when the auto gets full, the driver moves a bit, offers 30% of his seat... so I meant that front seat!)
8. Blue has always been my favourite colour, not pink and am not a great fan of chocolates.
9. Was very insensitive, was a bad listener and always had difficulty expressing my feelings.
10. One of my greatest fears was to get spotted by others with tears in my eyes.
So that’s it. I could have said more but stopped here. Guess you people are lucky... So anyway before the girls/women out there seethe with anger and decide that my existence on this planet in itself is a bane to womankind, let me clarify a few things.. Except for points number 3 and 8, all the other above mentioned things have changed now... in a big way. To that, add the eternal fright I feel at the sight of pay-to-get-nearly-killed kinda rides at amusement parks, the endless number of times I’ve fainted at the sight of blood/gore, the secret crushes on handsome hunks, reading books like Digital Fortress and ending up liking the chemistry between the lead pair more than anything else in the book, watching movies like Alaipayuthey and Minnale more than 20 times, the crimson shade(literally) my face turns to when I get embarrassed or feel shy, the nonstop day dreaming that I do, the great love for rains, etc, might calm you down...Not much of a sinner anymore I suppose.
P.S. : I'm not tagging anyone and I love blue jeans.
Now to the analysis of how and in what ways I have defied being a gender stereotype.
1. Ahem... Let me start with a sampler: In the building that we lived in, there was a narrow and high fenced corridor in the backyard. The entrance to that corridor always remained locked and the watchman had the keys. Sometimes clothes put out to dry in the balcony, fell inside this corridor.. sometimes, kids when playing, used to drop their toys there by mistake. Whenever the watchman (having the keys to this corridor) was not around, and it became imperative to retrieve the “fallen” stuff immediately, people would come to me. From the 1st floor balcony, I used to aim and take a jump to land on the window sill of the ground floor (facing this corridor), jump on to a tank from there, hold on to a PVC pipe, take a mighty swing and land perfectly in that corridor. I used to get back to first floor with the same ease. From age 9, till I turned 12, I performed this feat nonchalantly, as and when the neighbours requested. Finally my parents intervened in a big way and I had to stop offering this service. What kind of a kid I was, I now leave it to your imagination.
2. Also, as a kid, I always belonged in the boys’ gang. Have played more gully cricket than any other game. The adventures I’ve had with the boys’ gang is worth a separate post in itself. In case you are wondering, it included stuff like, leading them on an expedition to a deserted house to investigate certain things(of course inspired by the Secret Sevens and Famous Fives), climbing a 25 ft bamboo structure, going around “bhoot” bungalows in the night for winning a bet, etc...
3. I’ve never had a fascination for dolls or teddy bears.
4. I used my skipping rope to lasso mangoes and bhels and pluck them from trees.
5. My weird dressing sense (read boy like and also thank me for not going into the details) and a few mannerisms earned me the nickname “Porukki”(rough equivalent to tapori) in college. The same set of friends have also been kind enough to remind me every now and then that words like graceful, eloquent, etc when prefixed with my name, sounds oxymoronic.
6. I never had a liking for make up or jewellery.
7. Have travelled in footboard of buses; have travelled in auto sitting in the front seat... (i.e., when the auto gets full, the driver moves a bit, offers 30% of his seat... so I meant that front seat!)
8. Blue has always been my favourite colour, not pink and am not a great fan of chocolates.
9. Was very insensitive, was a bad listener and always had difficulty expressing my feelings.
10. One of my greatest fears was to get spotted by others with tears in my eyes.
So that’s it. I could have said more but stopped here. Guess you people are lucky... So anyway before the girls/women out there seethe with anger and decide that my existence on this planet in itself is a bane to womankind, let me clarify a few things.. Except for points number 3 and 8, all the other above mentioned things have changed now... in a big way. To that, add the eternal fright I feel at the sight of pay-to-get-nearly-killed kinda rides at amusement parks, the endless number of times I’ve fainted at the sight of blood/gore, the secret crushes on handsome hunks, reading books like Digital Fortress and ending up liking the chemistry between the lead pair more than anything else in the book, watching movies like Alaipayuthey and Minnale more than 20 times, the crimson shade(literally) my face turns to when I get embarrassed or feel shy, the nonstop day dreaming that I do, the great love for rains, etc, might calm you down...Not much of a sinner anymore I suppose.
P.S. : I'm not tagging anyone and I love blue jeans.
