This thing call woman

You know, we women never really advanced much.

When I was a kid, studying in a school next to the airport, we poor kampung kids have to walk very far to wave flags to welcome some VIP. We didn’t even know or care who the VIP is. All we know is, if we walked that far, we will get a tiny, cup of iced Milo.

And as always, there was this woman who was probably the VIP’s wife or something. And we, as little girls, sort of know that women are always behind the men.

Of course, they always tried to use the much cliched ‘Behind every successful man, there is a woman’ Back then, when we hear that, we will automatically have that image of ‘ahhh…the beautiful wife of Tun Razak or the very sporting Tun Hasmah or the very elegant Tun Hussein’s wife’.

Now, if we ever say that, we think of something with huge hair. Or even worse, we get the image of the BJ-ing personal friend of a certain Chinese association president.

Then, and now, I never am impressed. When I was 10 years old, it wasn’t a big deal to see some VIP’s wife. Now, if you want to impress me, I phtooi you.

I don’t quite understand. When we have those so-called first ladies gathering, why do they always do the woman’s thing like petting or is it patting little, poor orphans and stuffs like that. Can’t they do something that is not labelled as a woman’s thing? Can’t they just do something regular and normal without reminding us that women have to take the second place, do silly stuffs they hate doing like attending some arts and crafts exhibition or something like that?

Why do they always put women in situations like those? And why do women have to allow themselves to be subjected to stereotyping?

I think I am lucky I don’t meddle much in my very conservative church. Otherwise, I will be questioning why we cannot have women priests. I am also lucky I am not in politics or I will yank off the head of any man who assigned me to deal with women’s issue. And if I am a country’s leader, I will pick someone gentle like Koh Tsu Koon to be in charge of Women’s ministry. If I belong to a particular faith, I will probably strangle self with the scarf because women are not to be seen.

I just want to say, I am so sick of stereotyping. And usually, it is us women who allow that to happen. I was at the hairdresser a couple of days ago and all the women talk about are their silly women’s problems. All brought on by themselves because they stereotype and put themselves in that tiny package.

Break free lah!