As per Wikipedia definition “Gender policing is the imposition or enforcement of normative gender expressions on an individual who is perceived as not adequately performing, through appearance or behavior, the sex that was assigned to them at birth”… she should behave like a girl… he can do it, he is a boy. Since my childhood I have heard so many of such comments, believe it or not most of them came from my mother. Fortunately my father was a bit progressive in his thoughts and he did not bother much about whether a girl should behave typically like one. In our society, gender policing is more strictly implemented by women than men and applied mostly to women than men. The question is… why? Probably because we are taught that way, so the answer lies in education. Only proper education can change this or I should say improve the situation, changing it would be a far cry. Because my mother was brought up in that way where she had to behave like a typical girl, wear girly clothes, be shy, listen to every elder in the family, be obedient, help her mother in the kitchen and household, be ready for marriage when parents thought she should be, keep no ambition for higher education, look beautiful but keep only girl friends, no boys to be seen around her, etc., etc. she could never accept the rebel I was. This is true for many other girls across the globe where they are often misunderstood because they did not conform to their typical gender behavior. Is it not enough to feel like a woman from within rather than behaving like any? The case is worse in case of boys though; they are often called effeminate or even gay if they fail to behave like a typical male. [Read more…]
Archives for 2014
Workplace politics and interesting personalities
“My life, my rules!”, does that really work in corporate culture? “Oh, there is too much politics in this company, our managers can beat politicians!”, don’t you think its too naïve to expect a politics free organization? Well I may sound sarcastic but lets face the truth people, workplace politics is something none of us can avoid or get away with. No business school can ever teach theirs students to deal with the manipulations and mind-games that almost define our so-called corporate culture. There is a notion that people who crib most about workplace politics are those who have played but lost the game, but I don’t think it is true in every case. I have seen so many people who are good souls but simply do not posses the political quality that is required to win the “game”. There are people who are too involved in their work to look around and play according to the workplace politics rules. I have been a sufferer and survivor of this very game, I don’t remember winning any of the workplace politics battles ever but I have survived many by drawing levels. At the very beginning of my career, workplace politics depressed me, made me feel like a loser but over the years I have grown into a tough woman who fights it with mind and survives (most of the time!). [Read more…]
Reading J. K. Rowling Books
Coming from a vernacular medium schooling background where English was not included in the syllabi until 6th standard and rookie English were taught till 10th which did not differentiate between literature and language, reading J. K. Rowling books seems like a dream come true. By the time I read Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the series had already become a phenomenon and the whole world was waiting for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Being a voracious and involved reader of fiction I always travel to a different world whenever I read a new one, it’s like living another life but reading the first Harry Potter book felt like transitioning into a different self, as if I was as new born as the one year old Harry who knew nothing about his past, his parents or even himself. Not sure whether every Harry Potter fan feels this way but I think the entire Potter series qualifies as a very well written thriller for kids as well as for adults who still love fantasies and fairy tales. [Read more…]