Good day. For some reason, when I looked at the questions presented today, I got very emotional. I have no idea why. Probably because of the second question about saving one child. Truth be told, I hope to never be put in such position. There are things we'd have to consider and what not but I may not be able to live with the guilt.
But there was a question that got me hooked and here:
If you could swap gender, (male to female or female to male), for one year what benefits or negatives do you envisage, what challenges do you think you'd face and would you consider staying that way permanently, if so why? Is there anything in particular you'd like to do as the opposite gender?
I thank God I'm female but I did find myself wishing at some point to have been male. As time passed though, I realized that females have it easier and while I do feel privileged, I just feel there are things I'd do better if I was male.
I grew up in a really "rascal" neighborhood from childhood. Before leaving my Aunt's house in a Government Reserved Area, I was what we all know as Prim & Proper. My Aunt (rather Grand-Aunt) is a woman of society and held a title. As such, every member of her household was expected to behave like a Prince or Princess. Ugh!
We were taught proper etiquette as well as had some kind of pageant teacher who made us walk with books on our heads. All this started at the age of 3. We didn't wear corsets (thank God) but we were never to be caught wearing anything other than gowns or sundresses. Our hair had to be done at all times. Breakfast was at 7am and we never made the mistake of leaving those gates without cleaning up nicely. Which is why we had several househelps and the house was always bustling. Trust me, it was exhausting.
3 year old me: I wasn't really a happy child
The only person who had any kind of freedom was my cousin brother. My cousins are twins; the only other family I have here and I'm closer to the girl. We both had it rough because we grew in the home of a dictator. Trust me, she being the daughter did not make it easier. We were to be better at everything including school, skills and manners.
My Aunt was a chronic show off (still is) so we the girls were always by her side. Don't speak unless spoken to, don't eat until you're told, courtesy to your elder, be good, yada yada yada! I don't blame her, she grew up in England.
5 year old me😐
When I left(or rather was thrown out) her golden cage with my mom, I had a hard time fitting in. I was only taught English, imagine my shock when I began hearing other kids speaking what they termed as Pidgin.
Little by little I began to fit in but at some point (call it a phase) I became attracted to girls. A girl could ask me for anything and I would do it. Infact, I still have a soft spot for women but not cause I want to bang them or something. I just do.
The negatives I see in being a man would be the thorough difficulties in making it big. Yes. Men have it harder. While ladies can snap their fingers and get a lot of things done, men don't have it that way unless they are born in a wealthy home. I dated a guy who made me understand the huddles men face outside. He nearly committed suicide but well... He's still alive now.
I've seen guys (or heard of) who killed themselves because they lost money or something. That is unlikely for a woman because as we say in Nigeria "anyhow anyhow, e go show". Which means, we would still get it back. It was last year I really got to see what men go through.
The benefits would be me being able to go anywhere and do things that as a girl if I did would be frowned upon by society. And yeah, dating a girl without worry but I bet I'd still worry because unless the lady is like me, she'd be high maintenance. Trust me, men don't have it easy.
I don't know if I'd want to stay a man permanently. Scratch that. Nope! I wouldn't want to.
There's one thing I would do if I was the opposite gender. Join the Army. Doesn't mean I can't do that as a girl. Infact, I nearly applied to NAF(Nigerian Airforce) but Mom wouldn't allow it. According to people, the training is gruesome and some have lost their lives. I'm the only child so you can imagine.
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