When we become teenagers an invisible wall gets created between boys and girls. At Aarohi it came to notice that there are some people I don’t interact beyond the necessity that comes with living together and these people tended to be of the opposite gender.
To challenge this gap between people we did two activities today.
In pairs of opposite gender. One person stood still while the other observed this person top to bottom and back to front. Literally staring at the person, noticing small details, looking for similarities and differences. Wondering how would it be to have this body. Ending the observation with making eye contact and taking a peek into the persons soul through the eyes. Then reversing the roles of the observer and observed.
The reflections of this activity was for some “that it was awkward, uncomfortable and weird to both observe and be observed with such intensity, especially by the opposite gender.” Few said “There was some connection with the person when I looked into the eyes.” Few said “It was interesting and funny to imagine myself in the others body, I would be taller, I would lose my abs, I would be thinner were some funny thoughts.”
The other activity was to strike a conversation with the partner for five minutes on a topic of my interest. Many of us hadn’t had a meaningful conversation with our partners, this was the first time.
Some found it nice to be listened to, to be respected for their choices. Some enjoyed the light and fun conversation with someone they never really interacted with before. Some found new connection with the partner.
This teen club was to invite the teens in a space where gender walls are broken and they instead looked as two individuals.