You are a Girl-so act like one!!!

"You are a girl-act like one!" my mom said to me that musky evening while taking a dirty dress off of me and cleaning me up. "What kind of girl runs around with street boys all covered in dirt, throwing rocks in rivers? And what is it with you and collecting frogs?!"

My mom's idea of a girl always consisted of a pretty little princess wearing a dress, playing house with dolls, and pretending to be the perfect mother and a beautiful wife to a successful man; but let's face it, this is the 21st century, and how many females actually follow their pre-assigned gender roles willfully?

The problem is that gender is dynamic, ever-changing. Gender is defined by society and articulated by individuals as they network with each other. Honestly it is not like I just wanted to go against society’s idea of what my gender should be doing, and what kind of toys we should be playing with. It is just that dolls were never enough of a creative outlet for me, a doll is too concrete. Running around with boys, wreaking havoc upon my neighborhood always provided me with more opportunities to learn valuable life skills such as independence and respect, without worrying about getting the cute little pink bows on my dress dirty.