My Sins Against Gender Stereotypes – tagged by IHM

This is the tag from IHM:

If you are a woman,

Have you ever wanted something that is considered ‘manly’ ? Like a basketball, a cell phone, a dog, a camera or a new laptop? A new car or motor bike? Ever wanted to be a pilot? A doctor or not a nurse? And the manliest want of them all – The remote! 

As a kid did you enjoy playing with a bat and a ball?

There was a time when books were considered ‘manly’, women authors had to pretend to be men – would you say books are still rather manly – women should want to embroider and crochet?

If you are a man,

Have you ever wanted something that only women are supposed to want – like bags, shoes, clothes, creams, perfumes, babies, flowers? A peaceful home and a happy family? Have you ever been afraid of the dark or of insects?

As a kid did you ever want to play ‘teacher-teacher’, cooking or did you like playing with a doll? Have you ever enjoyed cooking? Bought something in pink? Loved chocolates?

Growing up was a tough time for me. Not at home but whenever I got dragged to weddings and parties. I was this taller and wider than average girl who hated wearing even the smallest of earrings and always wore cotton. My aunts and all well-meaning relatives always tried to corner me in order to lecture me on making an effort to dress up like a girl, all of which I promptly brushed off. Things changed as I grew older, but while my more girly cousins and friends moved to pretty jewelry, bindis, sarees and the like, I merely moved from cotton dresses to plain shirts, blouses, neutral pants and skirts! Sure I like my 7-8 pairs of shoes and 3 handbags, but deep down I still am that little girl who is comfortable being in the background in her plain clothes!

I am a bundle of contradictions, and in no way do I really conform to the female stereotype. I am your average woman who likes some girly things and dislikes some!

1. I kill any bug that finds its way into our home. (I have a process that uses one rolled up envelope and a piece of tissue paper!)
2. I don’t like to sit at the kitchen table and talk woman-stuff when we visit people. I prefer if both men and women sat in the living room and talked. I like to talk politics, sports and current affairs more than ‘what I cook’, ‘what someone else cooks’, recipes and jewelers, but I also like to talk about latest bolly-gossip!
3. I don’t apply makeup. Only when there is a BIG party or that one time when I got married. Otherwise I am a wash my face and apply moisturizer girl. I also don’t thread my eyebrows or go for regular facials, manicure and pedicure. I do apply/reapply nail polish though. And I do love to dress up, even if it means wearing a non-fussy, color-coordinated outfit and pretty earrings and necklace etc.
4. I am a bad cook. The husband cooks better than I do. He also has a lot more patience while cooking, he waits for the mustard seeds to crack, while I just dump everything in the oil and put a lid on it!
5. I am not a very good housekeeper. I let books accumulate in room corners, and conveniently ignore their existence until I need to read that particular book again!
6. I wear more blacks and browns and navy blues than pinks or corals or reds. I also don’t have tens of bags and shoes. I have some, but not too many!
7. I prefer to sit and read a book than dress up and go out to party!
8. I don’t do any puja. I don’t fast for the long life of my husband. I don’t wear mangalsutra or toe rings or bangles. The only time my Hindu roots show up is once a year for Varalakshmi Vratam.
9. I am not a damsel in distress. I prefer lifting my own weight. (Although I do ask the husband to lift things that I really cannot!)
10. I don’t go all awwww on stuffed toys. Neither on pink streamers, glitter or anything else pink!

And because I don’t want to wear blue pants all my life(yes that is the curse if you don’t tag 12 others), I tag: Tangytrivia, Nuttie Natters, Deepti, Nabeela(even though you deleted your blog, you can guest blog, here or anywhere else you like!), Mayur, Aniruddha, Ugich Konitari, Roop, Parul, Anju, Anu Russel and Sraikh.

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