Be a human you are

On a facebook group that I’m part of, someone once asked what being a woman means to us. I commented it doesn’t mean anything specific to me, since every single woman out there is “womanly” in her own way and the whole concept of womanhood is just fluid. The author of the post replied to my comment saying I didn’t understand the question and missed the point. Besides, ever since feminism became a thing, lots of women became over-sensitive and are talking about womanhood being flexible and fluid, but you never hear anyone saying that being a man is fluid, right?

Oh well, I wrote in reply, I actually would say exactly the same about men: that being a man is – and damn well should be – flexible and fluid, cause every single man out there is “manly” in his own way. And if there were some set limits to how you can interpret the asked question, than I wasn’t aware of them. And I left it at that. No point arguing further.

Could be worth arguing about on a blog on International Women’s Day though – and not just to the benefit of women.

Behind the glasses

There’s been this on-going joke about my glasses. Most of the newly met people like to imagine that I’m becoming a completely different person without them. The most frequent assumption is, of course, that I’m intelligent and responsible (which for some equals boring) in them, but crazy and recklessly spontaneous without them.

And even though it has nothing to do with the actual glasses, they’re right – I can be and I am being both. And many more, for that matter.

Does that mean I’m not authentic? That I pretend to be someone I’m not?

Well, those two and a dozen more of my selves are most certainly authentic. Because there’s no such thing as one real, fixed, authentic me. We all are wearing what stands for the glasses here. We’re all wearing masks. Many, many of them. Even (or maybe especially) when we think we don’t.