Day 54 100 words 100 days Prompt- gender stereotypes

123 words. A collection of some stereotypes that I personally think the world could do without.

Strength and weakness do not depend on your gender, nor do how good or evil you are, or how smart or stupid.

And yes, males also deal with stereotypes. Stating that doesn’t make me any less of a feminist.

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Men don’t cry. Women get hysterical.

You throw like a girl.

She’s just one of the guys = She is totally cool.

Boys don’t wear pink. Or any other interesting color or print. They only wear blues, drabs, camouflage, checks, stripes.

If you make yourself look pretty maybe some nice boy will like you. If not… well, doesn’t every girl dream of a big white wedding?

Oh, you have only two daughters? No son? *puppy dog sad face*

Only boys should have muscles. Girls with muscles are gross.

Anyway, why do you need to study? Your husband will be the one working.

You need to man up and get a job. You can’t let your wife work.

Hahahahahahaha! You got hit by a girl!

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Day 55: The view from a bridge over troubled waters

Day 53 100words100days Write an acrostic spelling out ‘smartphone’

108 words

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Someone, somewhere, someday in the not so distant past had this thought:

Maybe people would like to own

A piece of technology that they can carry around with them, something that’s

Really helpful and that they cannot get enough of- like a

Telephone that isn’t bound by wires, or cables.

Perhaps they would welcome a device that keeps them connected, something

Handheld or pocket-sized, or both. Or neither. We could give them

Options. We could show them the world in the palms of their hands, and

None of them would ever grow weary or bored, because

Everything they would ever need to know would be within easy reach.

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Day 54: Prompt- gender stereotypes

Day 52 100words100days write an apology (fiction/non-fiction)

217 words

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Dear Humans,

We would like to apologise for conducting experiments on you for all this time; yes, since the very ‘dawn’ of mankind. We wanted to see what would happen if we replicated certain conditions from our planet on yours, and surprise, surprise- the creatures were not so smart as their makers.

You have repeated your mistakes as individuals, as groups, as a whole, umpteen times.

We still believe that there might be some good in you, which is why we do not destroy our experiment and begin anew elsewhere. (Also, we do not have the weapons of mass destruction that would be needed. Rest assured, neither do any of the countries that you accuse of possessing such troubling equipment. Nor are there any inter-galactic highways being built in your vicinity a la The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. And we most certainly do not believe in culls, which are a monstrous fantasy made up for that movie, with someone ascending )

Our plan now is to retreat, but keep an eye on you. We really hope you realise your potential soon.

Wait a minute- you are the disappointment! Why are we apologising to you?

Oh, never mind.

Sincerely,

The Aliens (of course, we exist!)

(P.S. Evolution hasn’t stopped; we’ve just put it on hold for a while)

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Day 53: Write an acrostic spelling out ‘smartphone’

Day 51 100words100days Transitioning to a tiny home

178 words.

I tried a concrete article, i.e. I tried to shape my article like two tiny houses. I know it doesn’t make for very easy reading, but sometimes one must sacrifice utility in the name of research. Right?

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In                      a                                                                                                  If you

tiny house you        can’t                                                                               want to join the tiny home

really fit a whole lot        of                                                                             revolution, you can build one of

stuff. But that is the whole point. You                                                      your own design, using your own labour

see, tiny houses work well for people                                                     and sourcing your own materials. Get rid

who are willing to live a minimalistic                                                       of everything that is unnecessary, and add

lifestyle. They are ideal habitation for                                                                                       on a couple of wheels

single people or couples, especially in                                                                                     so you can go  wher-

countries where people are accustomed to living in large homes, with several possessions.     ever you like, and take

all your stuff with you, like a snail setting out to see the world. Tiny homes are the antithesis to materialism. To live well in

one, you need to consider what is really worth your time, money and energy. Don’t assume that a tiny home means you

have to do without privacy, or sanitation, or even your pets. You just need to be a little innovative with your arrangements.

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Day 52: write an apology (fiction/non-fiction)

Day 50 100words100days write directions on how to repurpose something

Woohoo! Half done is well begun!

110 words

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1. Don’t wing it. If you are an amateur, plan what you are going to do before you make any changes to the structure of the item before you. Even the most basic of drawings is extremely helpful when attempting to repurpose something for the first time.

2. Ensure that the item is clean, especially of you picked it up off the sidewalk, or bought it in a dusty shop.

3. If at first you don’t succeed, even after planning and sketching out the idea, try again. As in life, learn from your previous mistakes and try not to repeat them.

4. Remember that each material is different. Allow for results to vary accordingly.

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Day 51: Transitioning to a tiny home

Day 49 100words100days Does gender matter? A series of tweets

143 words

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1/6 Gender does matter to some people. That can’t be helped. The real question should be does it have to matter. I don’t think it should

2/6 except when a certain set of biological functions is necessary to perform a certain job, or for a certain skill. For instance, males can

3/6 lift heavier items than females can- generally speaking. Women can bear children. But does that make either one better at painting a wall, cooking a meal

4/6 or caring for a weaker member of the tribe? I don’t think so. My gender should not determine how I interact with others

5/6 or how they interact with me, how I do my job, or how I am perceived when doing my job. Male or female doesn’t matter. I’m a capable

6/6 person who can develop whatever skills I choose to. And that is where I drop the mic.

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Day 50 *gasp* : write directions on how to repurpose something

Day 48 100words100days Prompt- broken scissors

198 words.

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I lifted the scissors to my hair. It had begun to grow like wires bent in awkward and untameable directions had been stuck into my dry dry scalp. Disastrous!

I wished there was someone I could blame for the state of my tresses, or someone I could beg to restore my hair to its former luxuriant glory. But there was no one responsible except me, a fact I had somewhat grudgingly accepted.

I had always loved the sound of scissors snipping though hair. Now, I hesitated, unsure about the extreme vanity that was making me lop of most of the fuzz that covered my head.

Start small, I told myself. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, pulled a few strands taut, and gingerly edged the twin blades shut on them. I heard a snap, and felt a shudder in my hand, and a pain in my foot. Obviously, this made me open my eyes.

What I saw made me raise an eyebrow: the scissors were broken, and one blade lay next to my foot, which had a red patch where the blade had struck it.

It appears that my hair can never be cut again. Fan-freakin-tastic!

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Day 49: Does gender matter? A series of tweets

Day 47 100words100days Make the Men in Black an organisation committed to gender equality

106 words

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First order of business: change the name of the organisation to something gender neutral, like People in Black, or Agents in Black. Does it have to be monosyllabic words? Peeps in Black?

Next: put a woman at the head of the organisation (accomplished in the third installment).

Third: recruit more female agents. Half the alphabet can be assigned to women, can’t it? There could even be an agent Double X.

Fourth: have the intergalactic defenders assist some female heads of state (or bugs of state or whatever), because Orion isn’t the only one with a belt.

Fifth: Battle more female villains, and have more female informers.

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Day 48: Prompt- broken scissors

Day 46 100words100days Favourite character from children’s lit.: Anne Shirley, her final days

240 words. Writing this was not easy. I love Anne Shirley, and even though I’ve read nearly everything she appears in, to me she is still the orphan at the train station clutching her carpetbag suitcase, eager to be. Her death- well, I’m glad L.M. Montgomery never wrote that. If she had it would have made it real. Do you have a favorite fictional character you couldn’t bear to have die?

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It is a comfort that my life did not turn out to be quite the tragedy that I wanted it to be when I was a child. Such a flair for the dramatic as I had.

It has had its ups and downs, some beautiful moments filled with hope and happiness, and some bitter moments that nearly crushed my soul.

I’m so sorry to leave you, Gilbert. I see you standing by my bed, doing your best to look encouraging. Such a handsome man, though your curls are no longer dark. You mouth “Carrots”, and I try to smile. We’ve grown old together. I never would have guessed it were possible. I’ve been happy with you, Dr. Blythe. I can only pray that such long periods of domestic bliss are in the store for our children and grandchildren. I see them standing around too. My little kindred spirits. I have tried to do right by you always.

Goodness, how different the world is now from the one I came into. So many people gone, so much change wrought upon the unsuspecting.

I’m going to see Walter soon, and our baby girl. And my parents, and Marilla and Matthew. And Diana, and Ruby, and so many other friends and loved ones. It will be a homecoming designed by Providence.

Dear God, and dear mes in the mirror, thank You for being there for me. I hope Heaven is just like PEI.

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Day 47: Make the Men in Black an organisation committed to gender equality.

Day 45 100words100days Riding a bike/driving a car for the first time

271 words.

A route I would love to cycle? Around the Burj Khalifa.

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You would think human beings would all take to cycling like ducks to water because we, like cycles, are bipedal (get it? No? Hint: two feet, two pedals).

Maybe some people do. I, however, was not one of them.

Even though I’d happily ridden around as a kid on a cycle with training wheels and a white basket, I couldn’t figure out how to balance on just two, thin circles of rubber. What if I fell and hurt myself?

So, for the longest time, I didn’t even bother.

Then, the summer after I turned 16, my mother bought me a cycle. I named her Berenike, after a character in a book about Cleopatra I’d just downloaded off Gutenberg. She is blue, for the most part, and has tires that are in constant need of air.

For a week or so, my sister held the back of the bike and walked along behind me as I struggled up and down the road that leads to our house. Finally, on Palm Sunday, I rode without any assistance or support.

It was pretty darn awesome! And scary. But so much cooler than not being able to propel myself forward on a vehicle powered by my sweat and burned calories!

Since then, I have fallen from my cycle a couple of times, and then gotten back on. I even graduated to scooters and motorbikes a little later, though that lasted for just a little while.

I still can’t take turns very well on two wheels. That might be one of the reasons I prefer four wheels, and why both my licences (Indian, Emirati) are for cars.

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Day 46: Favourite character from children’s lit.: Anne Shirley, her final days