Not to be sexist or anti-feminist but that's one of my often used dialogues- What do you think I am? A girl?
As my good friend, *shit*, girlfriend Nandini points out, gender is just a social construct. I am a biological woman but I don't feel the need to be lady-like. Yes, I have somehow accumulated millions of pink things in my wardrobe and burst into fits of giggles, but please, that doesn't make me 'feminine'!
There's a reason why I feel I must re-explain my tom-boy self. I was in the girls' bathroom today, fixing my unruly new hair when a thin, tall girl walked in. She had let down her long, straightened hair, wore a straight-cut, elbow length sleeved kurta and leggings, and wore one of those criss-cross looking plastic pseudo-pumps. She deposited her over-large handbag on the counter and went into the loo.
I went back to fixing my unruly new hair when a thin, tall girl walked in. She had let down her long, straightened hair, wore a straight-cut, elbow length sleeved kurta and leggings, and wore one of those criss-cross looking plastic pseudo-pumps. She deposited her over-large handbag on the counter and went into the loo.
Yes. YES! I know! You read that twice and went "Huh?"
But the same thing happened to me! Two different girls walk in looking like they could've been mass manufactured by Mattel!
Now, I'm a follower of "Every Woman's Bible" a.k.a The Confessions of a Shopaholic series. And I completely agree with Becky Bloomwood when she says that fashion is good for one's health. She acknowledges that wearing extra high heels can give you a terrible back pain but what she's trying to say is- If you wear nice clothes, you look nice. And if you look great, you feel great. If you feel great, you "be" great. She stresses on the importance of fashion's role in your psychological health.
Fashion is a commonly accepted standard. If you follow it, you are automatically accepted. And it's extremely true that expensive stuff make you look "gorgeous". (Well, they better!)
But what if you don't care about being accepted? What if you don't mind not being in the "in" gang? What if you wear the same dirty gray floaters everyday, regardless of what clothes you're wearing? What if you just repeat the same two pairs of jeans? So what if you don't have a french manicure and permanently raised *but plucked* eyebrows?
You can choose to wear your custom made khadis, your ten bucks a pair ear-rings, your unwashed, self-proclaimed "re-usable" kurtas.
You can choose not to iron your clothes or not to brush your hair.
You can choose to mis-match the colours of your wardrobe.
I'm just saying. As long as you're comfortable in your own clothes, why should you give a damn to anything else? And have you noticed how when you're conscious of what you're wearing, everyone automatically looks at you? Like for ONCE I wear mascara and my classmate goes... "You're wearing mascara". Yes, thank you for noticing. I DO own make-up, in spite of my "not a girl" act.
So, my "not a girl" act has been improvised, thanks to my new, extra-short hair cut. You remember how my guy called me ugly and I chopped off all my hair? He said to me later: "You political minded, manipulative woman! I did NOT call you ugly! Your long hair looked beautiful but this really, REALLY suits you"
You see that paradoxical statement that he made? Yeah. He's yet to see that slap coming. I haven't had the time.
On the other hand, a brutally honest junior of mine said "It's good that you cut your hair. You used to look like a mongrel". I don't know why it makes me so happy to hear someone admit that I am, indeed, ugly. God bless his soul.
While you have managed to reach this far through my long lecture, you'd probably be thinking "That hypocritical bitch. If she isn't pro-fashion, why was she wearing that pretty pink thing and abnormally high heels today?"
No, I didn't have a date lined up, although Ananya did ask me what the occasion was. But, dressing up in flowery pink and riding a bike is highly amusing and entertaining. It takes your mind away from the horrible state of Hosur road traffic. I won't deny that it had its consequences. He did say I looked "stunning". And that led him to do something adventurous for my sake. (Full story only to my girl best friends. In private.)
On my way back home, I had further EPIC reactions from the public. I was a paradox in sight. Pink and black. Girly and ballsy. That's when I realized, I was born to do three things:
1. Break stereotypes.
2. Make a fool of myself.
And finally,
3. Not give a fuck.
~FIN~
As my good friend, *shit*, girlfriend Nandini points out, gender is just a social construct. I am a biological woman but I don't feel the need to be lady-like. Yes, I have somehow accumulated millions of pink things in my wardrobe and burst into fits of giggles, but please, that doesn't make me 'feminine'!
There's a reason why I feel I must re-explain my tom-boy self. I was in the girls' bathroom today, fixing my unruly new hair when a thin, tall girl walked in. She had let down her long, straightened hair, wore a straight-cut, elbow length sleeved kurta and leggings, and wore one of those criss-cross looking plastic pseudo-pumps. She deposited her over-large handbag on the counter and went into the loo.
I went back to fixing my unruly new hair when a thin, tall girl walked in. She had let down her long, straightened hair, wore a straight-cut, elbow length sleeved kurta and leggings, and wore one of those criss-cross looking plastic pseudo-pumps. She deposited her over-large handbag on the counter and went into the loo.
Yes. YES! I know! You read that twice and went "Huh?"
But the same thing happened to me! Two different girls walk in looking like they could've been mass manufactured by Mattel!
Now, I'm a follower of "Every Woman's Bible" a.k.a The Confessions of a Shopaholic series. And I completely agree with Becky Bloomwood when she says that fashion is good for one's health. She acknowledges that wearing extra high heels can give you a terrible back pain but what she's trying to say is- If you wear nice clothes, you look nice. And if you look great, you feel great. If you feel great, you "be" great. She stresses on the importance of fashion's role in your psychological health.
Fashion is a commonly accepted standard. If you follow it, you are automatically accepted. And it's extremely true that expensive stuff make you look "gorgeous". (Well, they better!)
But what if you don't care about being accepted? What if you don't mind not being in the "in" gang? What if you wear the same dirty gray floaters everyday, regardless of what clothes you're wearing? What if you just repeat the same two pairs of jeans? So what if you don't have a french manicure and permanently raised *but plucked* eyebrows?
You can choose to wear your custom made khadis, your ten bucks a pair ear-rings, your unwashed, self-proclaimed "re-usable" kurtas.
You can choose not to iron your clothes or not to brush your hair.
You can choose to mis-match the colours of your wardrobe.
I'm just saying. As long as you're comfortable in your own clothes, why should you give a damn to anything else? And have you noticed how when you're conscious of what you're wearing, everyone automatically looks at you? Like for ONCE I wear mascara and my classmate goes... "You're wearing mascara". Yes, thank you for noticing. I DO own make-up, in spite of my "not a girl" act.
So, my "not a girl" act has been improvised, thanks to my new, extra-short hair cut. You remember how my guy called me ugly and I chopped off all my hair? He said to me later: "You political minded, manipulative woman! I did NOT call you ugly! Your long hair looked beautiful but this really, REALLY suits you"
You see that paradoxical statement that he made? Yeah. He's yet to see that slap coming. I haven't had the time.
On the other hand, a brutally honest junior of mine said "It's good that you cut your hair. You used to look like a mongrel". I don't know why it makes me so happy to hear someone admit that I am, indeed, ugly. God bless his soul.
While you have managed to reach this far through my long lecture, you'd probably be thinking "That hypocritical bitch. If she isn't pro-fashion, why was she wearing that pretty pink thing and abnormally high heels today?"
No, I didn't have a date lined up, although Ananya did ask me what the occasion was. But, dressing up in flowery pink and riding a bike is highly amusing and entertaining. It takes your mind away from the horrible state of Hosur road traffic. I won't deny that it had its consequences. He did say I looked "stunning". And that led him to do something adventurous for my sake. (Full story only to my girl best friends. In private.)
On my way back home, I had further EPIC reactions from the public. I was a paradox in sight. Pink and black. Girly and ballsy. That's when I realized, I was born to do three things:
1. Break stereotypes.
2. Make a fool of myself.
And finally,
3. Not give a fuck.
~FIN~
