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Every time I listened to what 'they' told me, I lost a little more of my true self.
Every time I listened to what ‘they’ told me, I lost a little more of my true self.
I wish I hadn’t looked back when…
They told me, you are a quiet child, when I was in kindergarten.
They told me, you need to speak more.
They told me, your heels are too high, when I was in high school.
They told me your skirt is too short.
They told me, basketball is for taller girls.
They told me to sit crossed legs, it makes you lady-like.
They told me, girls and boys cannot be best friends.
They told me, solo trips aren’t for girls at all.
They told me that good marks will make your future bright.
They told me, good girls don’t dance like that.
They told me, do not do night shifts or “just change your job!”
They told me, a woman sacrifices for her family.
They told me not to stay alone in a different city.
They told me, don’t go out alone.
They told me, late nights and discos are bad for me.
They told me, hanging out with friends too much is not what girls should do.
They told me to get married soon.
They asked me, when are you going to have a baby?
They told me, don’t have more babies.
They told me, may be you could have more.
They told me, don’t talk about bold topics like sex and love.
They told me to be well dressed all the time.
They told me, to attain something, you have to lose something.
They told me, you ought to learn to cook.
They told me to eat a little more.
They told me to put on a little weight.
They told me, you look so good in dresses.
They told me, you should spend more time with us.
I wish I hadn’t looked back and listened to what they said.
Because each time I did, I just lost a part of my true self and was just being what they wanted me to be…
It was always about what they wanted and never about ‘ME’!
Top image is a still from the Hindi movie, Cocktail
Blogger, Writer and Content Curator. Author of 'Infidelity-An Outrageously Funny Affair and The Ultimate Rom-Com' - available on Kindle. read more...
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Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 might have had a box office collection of 260 crores INR and entertained Indian audiences, but it's full of problematic stereotypes.
Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 starts with a scene in which the protagonist, Ruhaan (played by Kartik Aaryan) finds an abandoned pink suitcase in a moving cable car and thinks there is a bomb inside it.
Just then, he sees an unknown person (Kiara Advani) wave and gesture at him to convey that the suitcase is theirs. Ruhaan, with the widest possible smile, says, “Bag main bomb nahi hai, bomb ka bag hai,” (There isn’t a bomb in the bag, the bag belongs to a bomb).
Who even writes such dialogues in 2022?
Be it a working or a homemaker mother, every parent needs a support system to be able to manage their children, housework, and mental health.
Let me at the outset clarify that when I mention ‘work’ here, it includes ANY work. So, it could be the work at home done by a homemaker parent or it could be work in a professional/entrepreneurial environment.
Either way, every parent struggles to find that fine balance between ‘work’ and ‘parenting’, especially with younger kids who still need high emotional and physical support from their caretakers. And not just any balance, but more importantly, balance that lets them keep their own sanity intact!