Have you heard cars, badass weapons, tech. gadgetry etc. being referred to as toys for the boys? I bet, you have… and have you ever bristled over how stereotypical and possibly sexist that is. Well, I have… and I always get mad when I hear or read it.
Who decides what I, as a girl, ought to play with or what I should fancy under the Christmas tree, wrapped up in elegant gift wrap? I love cars, machinery, electronics and gadgets… and I don’t think I take too kindly to being judged for it. And, no… it is not just these things that I like, I am a huge fan of dolls and soft toys and baby animals and all things ‘cute’. I do hate pink though… unless it is a shocking shade of it.
I believe that it is a stupid idea to force people to segregate interests and bracket them as male and female ones. Why should a woman who likes to knit be looked down upon and thought of as a ‘bored housewife’ or a woman who has an active Pinterest board of fun & creative crafts be considered a ‘sit-at-home-mom’. For all you know, they are probably taking time out from their corporate jobs to have some fun and de-stress. A hobby that does not involve a heavy tool box and machine tools and loads of grease is no less an interesting hobby. I love to build little shelves and tinker with electronics just as much as I love to bake or quill.
There is this Samsung ad that is an irritating example of the prejudiced view of a big part of our society.
Look at how it has a woman (in pink, naturally) in what is, according to Samsung, her natural environment (the kitchen) saying she uses the computer to share pics of her family. Notice how all the men reportedly use their computers for ‘serious’ stuff… and even, work! Ha!! Oh… and if that wasn’t insulting enough, they hand her a screw driver and she looks at the thing as if it is an alien dick. How hard is it to unscrew a laptop? Samsung (and a whole lot of other tech companies) have to dig themselves out of that trench under the rock they are in and see the light of day to know that women have working brains… and they can figure out tools and computers and more just as easily as they can figure out the exact temperature the meat has to reach for the perfect Beef Wellington (which, by the way, is 55°C.) Also, pastels are boring… next time you get a gadget out for women please don’t do pink!! Red is good. Red is passionate.
Sarah (my imaginary – for now – daughter), loves the Sang Noir Veyron and let’s Tia, her teddy bear drive it while she fixes the broken microwave so she and Tia can together bake that batch of chocolate cookies shaped like LOTR characters. 😀
And you can FO for judging me… both for liking dolls AND my imaginary daughter.
Also, I have to go fix the goddamn office printer!
© Surya Murali
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