Monday 13 January 2014

Myths And Their Doom: Girls' colleges Aren't What You Think

Girls' institutions. These words itself had started to haunt us as we went through the list of prospective colleges. With a co-ed background and hounded by all sorts of stories about girls' institutions, settling on a girls' college was soon becoming the hurdle we never thought we'd come across.

Deciding we would cross the bridge when we would come to it, we took the leap of faith and secured admission in a girls’ college. Half a year down the line, we are more than convinced that we really do belong here, or deserve to be here. And here we support it with multiple causes.

So, how exactly would you define a girls' college prototype? Someone with impeccable English, clad in figure hugging clothes, clutching a Versace bag, going to high-end malls in chauffeur driven cars- how many boxes does that tick? All you people out there who are stuck in this world of femme fantasy, brace yourself for a reality check.


Myth#1Intellectually stunted? You gotta be kidding me!: People have a tendency to infer that girls, by virtue of staying in a same-sex environment, aren't able to compete at par with the men in the real world.
Busted!Nothing could be farther from the truth, my friend. Not only do girls engage in all the activities(even the 'boyish' domains of  sports), they also adopt leadership roles which help them to better face challenges that await them- be it heading the societies or clubs, organising events, or interacting with dignitaries. In fact, with you boys (read: unnecessary distractions who tug at our heartstrings as if they are playing a guitar) nowhere in the vicinity, we can better concentrate our energy on worthier pursuits.

Myth#2Better watch out!:This myth is what you answer back in response to the above myth-busting proof provided. The opponents might say that girls live in an illusionary world, where they reign and deem it their own world, overlooking the fact that the real world is far more competitive.

Well, to dispel the clouds of ignorance that have clouded your logical, rational thinking, all I need to say is that five years from now, you will be a witness to the positions we would have occupied and the heights we would have achieved, because we are made of sterner stuff, and we will get rewarded for our determination. We will face challenges and give you a tough fight.


Myth#3Catfights are the order of the day: If there is one wicked thought that crosses all the minds who hear the word girls’ college, it’s this- that the days are full of quarrels (eloquently called catfights), skirmishes and brawls (ending in hair pulling and cheek slapping). There is some inherent flaw in this line of thought. What is with girls not getting along? Is there some law that girls can’t get along, and if they do, they must be lesbians? Well, this misconception of majority disgusts me. In fact, we fight less and less when we are devoid of boys' company, for the simple reason that our subject of quarrel no longer exists. Sorry boys, breaks my heart to say this, but you are the bone of contention in 90% of cases. Also, girls colleges are the epitome of the helpfulness, kindness and empathy girls have towards their own sex, contrary to the popular (fallacious) belief. Also, backstabbing, bitching, and other such worthless activities don't add the spark to the monotonous lives you think we lead devoid of you Adams and not a part of our everyday lexicon.



Myth#4Dressing: Now I've heard pretty interesting stuff about this one. Some people claim that the femmes in girls' colleges look like they just stepped out of a runaway. Thanks for the compliment, we are truly well dressed- just like our peeps in co-ed colleges. Just because we are in a girls' college doesn't mean that the Victoria's Secret model within us suddenly unleashes itself and we start strutting around college in 5 inch heels. Others opine that we simply stroll in monsters in pajamas while stuffing our faces with food, without a care in the world because there is no one to impress. Well, sorry to break your bubble boys, but we don't live our lives off impressing the other sex. There is something called a feel good factor and comfort which governs our clothing choices. So kindly keep your distorted impressions to yourself.


Myth#5Coz we-are-oh-so-guy-deprived-Well, there is this oxymoron-ic belief that on one hand girls are always concerned about their looks and fashion, on the other hand there is this detestable belief of girls being behenjis. Fashionable behenjis? Seriously, guys?The theories you are devising against girls (of girls colleges) are so foolishly contradicting that even oxymorons have planned to suicide the moment you came up with another such figment of crap.So, here we lay bare the truth girls know who they are, and they too have hormones. We hope you don’t have any theory which states that hormones are seized from our bodies the moment we become a part of an all girls’ institution. So, we too have hormones, and would love to be asked out, but that wouldn't be possible unless you do your part!
So, even if this is just a wild guess, a pure surmise on our part, we suppose this is true: you think we girls from girls’ colleges are too smart for you.




And please don’t give me that shit that we are desperate for guys. Do you even hear yourself? You guys are the demi- majnus lurking around the perimeters of our institute. We go to fests, parties and competitions, and have our fair share of mingling.
Landing a girls' college chick is like scoring a double century, but when it comes to marrying them- apparently you've dialled the wrong number sweetie. Because from what we've heard, Indian matrimonials come with this text in fine print -Girls' College Alumna Don't Apply. Why? Because we are too independent, too smart-ass, too straight forward, too intellectual to fit into your shallow definition of the quintessential Indian bahu. Boo you!

Myth#6 We ate,pray, love feminism: Not all girls' colleges students are feminists, at least not the radical ones. We are, like all other homo sapiens, endowed with a good sense of judgement. We know when we are talking about equality and when we are going all naari-morcha on you. So, take a chill pill, we are gonna listen to your sexist jokes before we rip your deeply entrenched misogynst notions apart.



Guys really find some kind of chauvinistic pleasure in assuming that we girls are fragile creatures who scream at the very sight of a lizard. To them, we say we are not bathed in Calvin Klein lotions and we don’t howl in misery on chipping a nail. In fact, we are stronger than you can ever imagine what with turning the desks, shifting furniture, carrying heavy loads, and other such "masculine" tasks, which your misguided chivalry might have prevented us from doing otherwise.Which also reminds me, that it was because of heavy books that we carried and studied that we secured admission where we did.It was because of our intellectual capabilities and not some display of our nail arts or hairstyles!