It used to bother me a lot, when being mocked for being shy, it automatically defined me of being girlish. What is being girlish? How do people identify that you're girlish or feminine?
Didn't understand why being indoor represents you as a girl. Maybe because in our culture back in the 90's. Women were super oppressed and stayed indoor for no reason. No driving, no walking alone on the street as it wasn't safe for them at all, a lot of restrictions were imposed on women back then.
I always had a soft corner for women since childhood and somehow didn't feel super offended for being called a girl. As I had enormous love and respect for women. The best creation of God and the most sensitive, fragile and strong simultaneously.
The nurturer to the universe is a Woman. A mother is a woman. That's enough definition, to describe a woman. No less than a warrior. A woman must be respected.
Growing up I've experienced being judged and mocked. People don't understand, how bad the impact of their pointless judgements is. How can anyone judge a child for their appearances or body language, voice or color? I consider it as discrimination against children. It is equal to abusing a child.
The judgments were usually passed by random people from families usually elders. Judging and mocking a child's appearance openly and especially on their faces is supposed to be a crime. I cannot and will never accept anybody mocking a child for their appearances. It not just damages one's life it also causes trauma and self-hate. Unlike me, I wanted to kill myself, I cried hiding in bathroom. Cut my hands with a sharp knife. I attempted self-harm, when I used to be mocked for being myself though I was okay. Being mocked publicly shattered my confidence. And since these elders from the families don't realize, the impact of their ruthless words is extremely destructive.
The so called elders should learn a lesson before widely opening their mouths to pass on judgements, and chose their words wisely. I hated such people for a very long time. But in respect couldn't say a word in retaliation.
Yet my pledge is to let children grow happily in freedom. The children must be schooled to be able to bring the best out of them. No one and no one should be allowed to discriminate or differentiate between children.