coriander in pho

Yesterday I dropped off my son at his school and while waiting for the school’s door opened, we sat with this little boy and his mother. This boy loves Big Hero 6 so we started to talk about the characters.

And this boy said, “Wasabi screams like a girl! It’s sooo funny and stupid!”

I actually felt sad and died inside.

“Do you think it’s a bad thing? Screaming like a girl?” I asked him.

“Yeah. Mom told me that.”

It was his answer.

And you know what? It makes me PISSED OFF. It makes me effing angry because there it is, a mother, a WOMAN, actually telling her son that screaming like every other normal person, like HER, in this planet is WRONG AND BAD. I was like, “WTF?”

I ain’t gonna tell Wira that “screaming like a girl” is wrong. I ain’t telling my son that “throwing like a girl” is bad. Effing hell, have you seen Mo’ne Davis? She THROWS LIKE A GIRL because that’s what she is. A GIRL. I scream like a girl when I’m angry BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT I AM. A WOMAN. A FEMALE. Why being somebody that I actually am is a bad thing? I can’t help it if I’m a woman because I’m born this way — and mind you, that’s not a bad thing. Not a bad thing at all. Just like my son was born as a guy, and you dear readers, as you were born as a girl, or as a boy. That’s not a bad thing at all.

And you know what? There will be times when you might re-thinking about your gender. Maybe you’ve been told by people that you’re a princess, but then you decided to be a prince. Maybe you’ve been told by people that you’re a knight, but then you thought that you’re actually a damsel. THAT’S NOT A BAD THING. You are what you are. Being a boy is awesome, being a girl is super great.

So throw like a girl. Throw like a boy.

Kick like a girl. Kick like a boy.

Scream like a girl. Scream like a boy.

Because that’s what you are.