Because I Am a She

"Well, I can do it too so why not?" I teased back and then went on cutting. He stayed and watched quietly. Maybe he was impressed that he just asked what I was making when he walked by the next day while I was sanding.

At another time, I was mixing cement for the garden when someone spoke behind me, "Where's the man in the house? He should be doing that, not you. Or have you exchanged pants?" That was another neighbor from down the road. "Does it have to be a man's job? Come on, we are in the 21st century!" I said a bit formally. I thought it was not funny even if she meant it as a joke.

Yes, some still do stereotyping (my neighbors at the other house included), even in a place like ours where it is men and women have the same jobs is a norm. Here, men cook, do laundry, clean the house, etc, and are not frowned upon. You wouldn't hear anyone saying "Hey, why are you cooking? That's not a man's job."

Well, maybe I was expecting that in this day and age, it should not be surprising when we (women) do things that were initially known to be done by people with balls.

On another story, seeing women driving cars was uncommon in town until around 7 years ago. And along with it was one awesome thing I considered an advantage of being a woman. I observed that male drivers tend to be courteous with women in the driver's seat. They let us pass first, especially on a single-lane road. I experienced such many times and it certainly makes driving more favorable, considering that most roads here are narrow.

_{Peter Fazekas}