Being a woman is a terribly difficult task since it consists principally in dealing with men.
- Joseph Conrad
There was a bit of a Facebook buzz about this article. It was fascinating, sad, and disturbing at the same time. I understood the part of me that felt unsettled and uncomfortable that young girls must masquerade as boys in order to have the same rights and benefits. Another part of me almost loved the daring and somewhat rebellious nature of this system: boys get all the privileges? Fine, I'll be a boy then. Perhaps this is the romantic in me, but it seems like there is something strangely empowering about this fiction. It gives these girls a chance to see what life can be like, and a chance to taste opportunity. It's also fascinating how the culture just accepts this practice and if someone dresses like a boy and has a boy's name, it's just accepted, even by those who know it's not real. The saddest part of the article is when the return to "womanhood" comes about. I suppose that's when the reality of all the inequity really sinks in.
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