My Struggle To Understand Gender Stereotypes

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Giribala Joshi on December 31, 2008
Generally for women, even though it is not always necessary, it is perfectly fine to do all sorts of manly things except the ones that are related exclusively to the male anatomy. On the other hand, when men do womanly things, the results range from downright absurd to highly aesthetic. For example, when men wear a sari, or put on a mangal sutra, lipstick, or a bindi, they look funny, but when they indulge in any creative work like cooking or cleaning the kitchen, they look extremely sexy and handsome.

When this topic was started by Indian Home Maker, I could not think of a single manly thing that I had ever done. In my opinion, whatever I did was womanly because I was a woman. To write this post, I sought help from one of my close friends. I narrated scores of anecdotes to her, from which she selected the following ones as the most macho.

Beta, Lifejacket Pehno: The Story Of A Little Boy

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Read this in Hindi:बेटा, लाईफ जैकेट पहनो: एक नन्हे बालक की कहानी

The Little Boy
Once upon a time there was a sweet boy with chubby cheeks, curly hair, and dimples to die for. He had an equally charming sister. Their mother was from a faraway land, where women had more freedom. After marrying into a reigning swimmers’ family of the Grand Lake, she was straitjacketed, but she never complained because she had married for love. For security reasons, both the kids, even after growing up, were allowed to swim only in their personal kiddy pool.

The Grist Mill Manual For Housekeeping

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Housekeeping is a skill that cannot be mastered only through books. You need to have some practical experience. I also know that people do not learn from others’ mistakes, but as a sensible, conscientious, and compassionate human being, it is my duty to dispense the knowledge and wisdom that I have acquired after many trials and errors.

If you are not involved in household affairs yourself, find out who is. It might be your spouse, parent, or servant. Print these housekeeping tips on a paper and present it to that person.

Yours truly imparting wisdom to two of her friends.

Quiz: What Vegetable Are You?

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Once upon a time, Joel Stein knew only about two types of Indians--Guindians and Gandhians, about whom he wrote in an article in the Time magazine. After receiving an overwhelming response to his article, he learned a lot about the third type--the ones who are very sensitive to any news or opinion piece related to India that appears in foreign media. But there are more types of Indians out there. Find out your type by answering a few questions.

All Possible Personality Types

Bell Pepper
(Capsicum)

You try to make everyone around you feel special and loved, and expect to be showered with the same amount of love and respect. You are disappointed when someone hurts you or backstabs you, because you believe that you are too nice to deserve such ill treatment. You are glad to celebrate your friends’ successes, but also suffer great agony at their misfortunes. Since there is more pain and suffering in this world than happiness, you will gradually become a depressed soul. Joel Stein’s recent article in Time magazine about Indian influx in Edison, NJ is too impersonal for you to be offended.


Karela
(Bitter Gourd) 
You are a pure soul, but your tendency to speak avoidable inconvenient truths about people to their faces quickly lands you in an unfavorable zone. This often hurts you, and you spend a lot of time justifying your point of view. Sometimes you create great controversies with the help and support from a few behind-the-scenes friends. As a result, the majority is usually after your blood, although you are smart enough to save your skin. You are highly compatible with the onion types. You never hesitate to spew venom against Joel Stein when someone tells you that he has written an offensive article.