Becoming the Man She Wanted to Marry
She often wondered why she had become the man she once dreamed of marrying. Her own masculinity sometimes frightened her, a force she hadn’t anticipated but one that had grown naturally from the life she lived. Raised in a typical Asean household, she grew up watching her father as the sole breadwinner, her mother a full-time housewife, and her older brothers embodying authority. Movies reinforced the same narrative: men were portrayed as powerful, logical, and always right. Women, on the other hand, were depicted as dependent, weaker, and in need of protection. She didn’t resist these ideas at first. In fact, she liked them. Who wouldn’t want to be cared for, protected, and provided for? But as she grew, she equipped herself with education, survival skills, and real-world knowledge. Surrounded by boys, she naturally developed a dominant, firm presence. People often described her as fierce, though she preferred to call it resolute. Life, however, dismantled her early beliefs....
