Strength TogetHER 9- Session 8

17th April 2021

EVERYTHING IS NORMAL. IT'S ALL ABOUT THE PERSPECTIVE.

On 17th April 2021, around 15 girls gathered together via zoom with the sole motive of NORMALIZING THINGS in our society. The meeting started at about 5 pm and went till 6:45. In this 105 minutes long time we realized that many aspects of our society needed improvement and must be changed.

The session was unique from the rest of the session we had. It was the first session of Strength togetHER where we discussed about the topic ourselves without a moderator. Also it was special in a sense that a single topic covered lots of subtopics.

First of all we thought of normalizing the fact that cooking and cleaning aren't gender roles. We had the following discussion on it.

• Cooking and cleaning is an art not a gender role.

• Series and movies have also contributed to create stereotypes.

• Due to society pressure boys who enjoy cooking have to give up their hobby.

• Boys do cook but it's generally occasionally.

• Men have the choice in cooking and cleaning but for women society has made it a compulsion.

• When guests come women are only expected to serve them.

• Memes and posters showing gender stereotype are shared and normalized.

• Some men due to toxic masculinity don't even eat the already cooked food on their own.

Secondly we discussed the art of saying NO and what really is CONSENT.

• Our first speaker said that she couldn't say NO when her friend asked for her assignment which she had to submit that very day. Later she found her copy in the ground and regretted not saying NO.

• Our second speaker said that it's important to say NO. If you don't want to do something it's good to say NO directly rather than showing false hope.

• Our third speaker said that saying NO is a very courageous act. She shared her story in which she denied a drunk man to sit near her for her own safety. 

• If you are uncomfortable to do anything, say NO.

• NO IS A COMPLETE SENTENCE.

• SAYING NO DOESN'T NEED ANY EXPLANATION.

• Don't think about what others will say while taking a stand.

Thirdly we had a talk on normalizing LGBTQ community.

• Many people don't know how to react when someone confesses that they belong to LGBTQ community.

• Schools and colleges aren't providing proper education about LGBTQ.

• According to Hindu culture, people from LGBTQ community are believed to be a sign of Lord Shiva.

• When your family members confess belonging to LGBTQ community often they tell them to stop overthinking and not to behave like that.

• People believe that it is some kind of disease which can be treated.

• LGBTQ aren't properly described and accepted by the society and are used as a term for insult.

• People accept it unless someone from their family members confesses it.

• One of our participants said that catching a girl's hand would spread the news in school that they are lesbian and they were told that being a lesbian is a sin from their principal.

• It's very important to have proper knowledge about it.

Fourthly, we had a talk about normalizing showing or seeing the weaker side of people.

• Showing a weaker side is a courageous thing.

• Hiding your weaker side and facing it by oneself leads to depression.

• Showing your weaker side is okay but seeking sympathy by doing so is not good.

• Sometimes people don't need our reaction, they just need a non - judgemental ear to listen to them.

• If someone trusts you with their problems, don't share it with others.

• It's okay for men to show their weaker side in spite of the boundary created by our society that an ideal man is thick skinned and emotionless.

• One of our speakers said that she loved singing and once she had put a video of her singing in the story though she didn't know it well. Her friend supported her and said that it was great. Our speaker said that she boosted her confidence through it and taught us about the need for support.

Lastly our topic covered the aspects such as :

• Normalizing buying sanitary pads without wrapping it in paper. 

• Normalizing hugging as a normal thing and not a sign of intimacy.

• Normalizing the friendship between a boy and a girl.

• Normalizing every possible thing which is going wrongly in our society.

The 105 minutes we spent that evening together virtually was really precious. To always cherish that moment and for a memory we took a screenshot and bid goodbye with the promise of NORMALIZING THE ABNORMALITY and TAKING A STAND FOR EVERY WRONG DOING.

Written by: Sakshi wagle (Cohort Co-ordinator)