Wednesday, March 31, 2010

You don't define who I am. You just define who I am not.

I grew up a tomboy. I wore pants, climbed trees, burst firecrackers while holding them, played cricket on the street for as long as my mom would allow it. I partly enjoyed those, and partly just enjoyed breaking the "girl" stereotype.


I continue to be a rebel. Sometimes, this is still about not being a stereotypical woman, like when I refused to pass on any chores to patidev when I was pregnant. Sometimes, though, it is about being all womanly.

There is a stereotype about technologists, executives, scientists, and such. These women are supposed to wear pants, be good at math and analytics, and generally not be "girly". It is, therefore, oh-so-fun to wear skirts and dresses to work, sew, cook, embroider, and do anything that is extremely girly.

I am finally realizing, that I am, first and foremost, the opposite of what you think I am, whatever that be! What is nice though, is that I show that in ways that I truly, sincerely enjoy. I truly enjoyed being up and about during my pregnancy, and I truly enjoy sewing.



2 comments:

A-kay said...

I enjoyed being a rebel, a feminist when I was young and expected to conform to the norm. And now, I really like doing things girl-y and wondered why. But your post was like a light-bulb moment for me :)

Sri Subramanian said...

Glad to know that there are others like me, A-kay. What got me thinking was a discussion with other women about work clothes. Some (quite a few actually) felt that they were not (or would not be) taken seriously if they wore dresses, skirts, frills, etc. It got me wondering what was different about my work environment that allowed me to wear these clothes to work. That was my light bulb moment!

On a different note, it seems like skirts for men is catching on. I am sure the men who wear those are, like us, trying to make a point.