Gender Stereotyping. Or Not.

I've been seeing this tag on several blogs for for a while now. It's pretty interesting and may be a little personal for some. If you've been tagged thus, you must reveal certain traits about yourself that make you seem feminine (if you're a guy) or macho (if you're a woman). I'm not sure if I can do it justice but since I've been tagged, I'll oblige Zave all the same (he tagged me).


The general question the tag asks -

If you are a woman,

    Have you ever wanted something that is considered 'manly'? Like a basketball, a cell phone, a dog, a camera or a new laptop? A new car or motor bike? Ever wanted to be a pilot? A doctor or not a nurse? And the manliest want of them at all - The remote! As a kid did you enjoy playing with a bat and a ball? There was a time when books were considered 'manly', women authors had to pretend to be men - would you say books are still rather manly - women should want to embroider or crochet?

If you are a man,

    Have you ever wanted something that only women are supposed to want - like bags, shoes, clothes, creams, perfumes, babies, flowers? A peaceful home and a happy family? Have you ever been afraid of the dark or of insects? As a kid did you ever want to play 'teacher teacher', cooking or did you like playing with a doll? Have you ever enjoyed cooking? Bought something in pink? Loved chocolates?


And I shoot my answer -

1.I love kids. I don't really like 4th graders and kids close to that age-group because they're freaking insane but I love the smaller ones (though I do scare them sometimes, unintentionally). The ones that are tiny and can't walk properly (toddlers) and babies (though I'm not too good at handling them!) seem adorable to me. That probably sets me apart from most of the male populace!

2.I'm a romantic at heart. I don't know too many guys who are like that. Maybe it's a girl thing. I don't know. I've never thought about it that way, though. Romance comes naturally to me if I'm in love!

3.I like reading meaningful and philosophical stuff sometimes(as long as it isn't too deep and becomes soporific). Considering that guys are generally associated with being interested in only sports and games as a hobby, it might be a little different for me. Do not be fooled, however. I'm a sportsperson too. I love to be on the field and play as well! Yes, I know the second paragraph of this post points elsewhere, but guys nowadays are generally thought of as an uninterested-in-books lot.

4.Snakes freak me out a lot. I think I have ophidiophobia (yes, I had to google it). It's just the way they crawl. It gives me the shivers. To the people reading this and residing in the same hostel as me, do not get any ideas. Please. Though snakes aren't insects and neither insects nor darkness scares me, they're 'creepy – crawly'. Since stereotypical girls are supposed to afraid of 'creepy – crawly' things, I thought I'd mention snakes here.

5.I love chocolates. But really, who doesn't?

6.I had a whole set of action figure G.I.Joes, a He-Man and some Batman toys when I was a kid. This point is for those who don't know the difference between a doll and an action figure. People, just because they're small human figurines does not mean they're the same thing!

7.I have never really thought about a peaceful and a happy family. Maybe I will get that feminine trait when I'm older. I'm just 20 now. I have at least seven to eight years wherein i wouldn't want to think about all that.

8.I've never had the urge to shop unless I absolutely needed to buy something, never liked to cook (I have tried out of curiosity and trust me, you don't want to use my culinary skills for dinner), never bought anything in pink (i detest the colour but magenta's fine on girls!), never played teacher-teacher (do even girls play that) and flowers do not spike a hormonal change in me either!
On the contrary, I get a rush of adrenaline when I drive fast; I literally live with pounding rock music (you should know to knock loudly enough). Gadgets fascinate me and I love having the remote in my hands (i fiddle with it if I'm not changing the channel) and I love playing all the kinds of sports that I've tried so far, and I've tried many and good at some!


So that's it for me with this gender-bender game of tagging. I would like to know from everyone reading this post, how much in which direction do you think I am? As for me, I think I'm more or less a stereotypical male with some minor defects!

I pass on the tag to :

Sayak
Surbhi
Aayushi