This is my response to WE89 weekend contest. You can also join the contest 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?
This week's questions were tougher 
Right from childhood, I've always imagined what it will be like to be a boy or to be of the male gender. Not that I don't like being a female but seeingall the extra carefulness and extra strictness with which females are raised in my society and it made me wonder, maybe it's easier being a boy.
Image by me
For instance my late mother always scared my sister away from men with the thoughts that we will end up pregnant, scared and alone and then we will think of abortion and then we will die. It used to look real and scary the way she usually made us picture it. I could only laugh about it years after when I realized it was just a ploy of hers to ensure we weren't promiscuous. She didn't do same for our brother anyways. Another reason I often thought about swapping gender was the terrible monthly pain I had to endure while growing up.
Every new month I usually dreaded my monthly flow. The first time I had my period,I was just few years over a decade old, it was all so strange. I couldn't understand the serious pain I felt in my abdomen. When I eventually realized that I will have to endure that monthly I desperately wished to swap genders.
So..anyway if I could swap to being a boy for a year first I will go to all the industries that have rejected me because I was female and apply for different positions usually filled by men. I will pee freely not worrying about getting a toilet infection. I will make love to my partner and enjoy it from the male perspective.
I will go on numerous bachelor's Eve parties without worry. I will eat as much as I want not worrying about adding any weight or looking older than my age.
I will treat my partner right, be sensitive to her needs, help her be the best she can be, support her dreans and be the best man for her.
If I were a man, I will fish out rapists or men who have the potential to take advantage of women around me and talk them out of it or fight them off.
I will not have to bother about getting unwanted pregnancies although I will not be sleeping around either.
Most importantly I'd like to fight for equality between men and women as a man. I'd use my make voice to support good and hardworking women wherever I go and I will never put a woman down with any of my actions.
Challenges that I may face
Of course I will most likely face the challenge of having to control my sexual urge around half naked or scantily dressed women especially since I've been a girl all my life. Trying out a new gender means I'll face a lot of changes and problems.
I may also face the challenge of being expected to do the hardest and most strenuous jobs in a place.
I will need to earn more because I will be expected to pick up several financial responsibilities.
I wouldn't want to remain a man forever anyway, I will only want to swap for a while for fun and experience then return to being a woman. This is because being a woman has its blessings and favours. As painful as it is, I get the opportunity to feel a life grow inside me, I experience nursing a child, I can wield my feminine magic and captivate my lover or get the attention of the opposite sex anytime I want. I get favours for being female and I can decide to depend on my man without being judged.
All in all, I'm happy and fulfilled in my gender and I'm grateful for all the experience I gain and keep gaining. Thank you for reading.
