Strength TogetHER 12- Session 5

                                                        

                                                                6th September 2021

“The problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue but that they are incomplete; they make one story become the only story.”


Stereotyping and creating assumptions about anyone and everyone is a global culture and a concern as well. We live in a society where people are so stuck in their mindsets about others that they’re not ready to take the exceptions into consideration.


Being a topic less considered in our society and also one of the major topics requiring attention for the social development of the vastly growing generation, we decided to hold the fifth session of Cohort 12 with the theme “Stereotypes and Assumptions''.Our session was moderated by Angel Lama, a Trans activist, LGBTQ+ activist, and an active human rights advocate. She is an alternative platform member of RHRN for marriage equality through the Blue Diamond Society. 


The session started with a general introduction of all the participants so as to create a more comfortable space. With that, Angel ma’am shared with us a beautiful presentation slideshow that she had made for our session which addressed assumptions and stereotypes as:

  • Assumption- A thing that is accepted as true or as certain to happen, without proof.

 For instance, a person wearing glasses is a nerd, the color blue represents a baby boy and the color pink represents a baby girl, etc.

  • Stereotypes- A widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of a person or thing. Stereotypes are generally Gender Stereotypes or Racial Stereotypes.


Gender stereotypes being more common in a country like Nepal, the session was more inclined towards it. We proceeded towards the story sharing.


Our first speaker shared how her family always uses the phrase “केटी भएर” (being a girl)  to get her to do work and restrict her from doing certain things.


Our second speaker pointed out an important issue about how girls in our society being masculine get praised but on the other hand, boys being feminine get teased and unliked. Society expects her to be all feminine when she wishes to enjoy both the masculine and feminine worlds.


Our third speaker recalls her memory of having loved playing with toy cars with her male cousins. As an adult now, her family often tells her to put on makeup and dress up all pretty to which she disagrees and chooses to stay as she is despite society’s modality.


Our fourth speaker’s story was a bit different from the gender stereotypes but still relatable to a lot of girls. Her story was being not found responsible enough to go outside on her own by her family members even when she finds her capable enough. She mentioned that all her friends’ parents find her very responsible but her parents.


Our fifth speaker expressed how uneasy she feels when all girls of today’s generation are considered gold diggers and even uneasy when parents warn their male child of it. It's not the warning that troubles her but the phrase “आजकालका केटीहरु” (today’s girls)  makes her sick.


Our very sweet moderator also shared with us her story of her struggle being transgender in a world where genders are to be just male and female and the roles are assigned accordingly. Finding herself was a journey itself but the people watching and commenting on her made her really uncomfortable. Blue Diamond Society helped and inspired her a lot to ignore what other people say and do what her heart wants and here she is,‘Miss Pink Nepal,2018’ and Quarter-Finalist in the Miss Universe Nepal 2020, making the best out of her life.


She praised us girls for being so bold to voice our opinions on topics like this that directly or indirectly affect our wellbeing. She also considered us very fortunate to have access to such great platforms like Strength TogetHER to move with time.


After all, it’s our life and while we do need to abide by society’s rules and regulations being social beings, these rules binding us shall do us no good.


Written By: Nirjara Shrestha (Cohort Coordinator)

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