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Womanhood


                                                                                 Art by: Ananya  Ravikumar

 When I was in the seventh grade, our teacher asked the girls in our class, 'How many of you are truly proud to be girls?' I think most of the girls raised their hands. I wasn't among them. For a long time, especially when I hit puberty, I wished I could be a boy. "Boys are so much fun", I used to think. "They're so much more relaxed about everything ..." At every stage of my school life, there have been boys in my circle of friends. That was another reason I wished  I could be a boy. Then the others would stop teasing me and I could hang out with my friends as much as I wanted to. Having read the 'Little Women' series, I used to fancy myself as Jo, who was a complete tomboy. The fact that she loved reading and writing didn't hurt either. The final barrier was my own stereotype. I was convinced that the 'girly' girls had lives with too much unnecessary drama, too much emphasis on clothes and makeup, and too much pink.

But then I grew up.And my friends grew up. And when I saw the women around me, I saw a lot of different traits, but what I saw in every one of them was strength and compassion.

 I saw that having a girl as a friend is an invaluable thing. I could connect with girls on a level so basic that it  amazed me. I re-questioned my outlook on clothes and makeup. I could understand them better than cars,at any rate. Finally,what was wrong with pink? The blue for boys and pink for girls stereotype is just that- a stereotype. Magenta would never be my favourite colour, but I did have a soft spot for baby pink. If someone had called me girly when I was younger, I would have taken it as an insult. When someone called me feminine last week, I felt happy. Because being a woman doesn't mean that you're from Venus. It doesn't mean you're crazy about shopping. It doesn't mean you're needlessly emotional  or sensitive. According to me, it means that you are part of a worldwide community, a support system or a sisterhood of sorts, whose strength lies in the fact that the connection is gene deep. Both my  attitude adjustment  and my article started with my teacher's question. I end with the same. So Meera ma'am, if you ask me that question today, I will raise my hand with a 'Yes' and mean it.
Happy Women's Day!

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