I wasn’t planning to write this post. I didn’t want to. I refused to think why this activity didn’t resonate with me. I gave excuses to myself. And then the nice people at Blogadda sent me emails. I ignored them. They tweeted me. I brushed it off. They called me. I gave up and decided to figure out why the words refused to flow.

I saw the Gillette Venus #UseYourAnd video hoping to be inspired. It is beautiful. #UseYourAnd reminded me how often I walk around with hairy armpits and “Kuttyma’s Mother” stamped on my forehead easily forgetting how awesome my role as an individual, as a part of successful family unit, and the world in general is.

But even then I wasn’t sure if I wanted to write this post.

“What should I write about?” Desperation coursed through me. I should be able to do this. I am modern woman who fights stereotypes on a daily basis and writing about the same should be a breeze. I went to twitter and searched for women tweeting about #UseYourAnd seeking inspiration.

“Write about yourself. Women in your life. The strong ones. The ones who refuse to be one-dimensional.”  

Useful advise indeed.

I watch the soccer-playing ballerina in her skirt kick the ball. I see flashes of my daughter. I remember the defiant glare on her eyes as my 5 year old says she wants be “an astronaut, a vet (for cute animals only), a swimmer, a scientist, a ballerina, a musician, and something else.” Yes, I could relate to the video. My mind drifts off. I wonder when the big bad world will box my little girl and set her on a well-trodden path she is supposed to be on. I wonder how I will fight it.

I shake away the fear filling me and keep watching the video. The voice, empowering and filled with power keeps reminding me to dump labels as long as I shave my legs. To accept compliments with grace and gain great legs. After all, a woman no matter how hard she tries is still judged by her great legs.

A great campaign by Gillette Venus around the time when I am personally fuming over the obituary of Colleen McCullogh in the Australian. A lot of labels, inappropriate ones to celebrate the life of a great author. It irritated me.

Labels unfortunately don’t go away (even after death) but reminding ourselves not to be limited by them (even it means I need to have clean-shaven legs) is sadly a necessity. Labels are like those pesky mosquitos hell bent on drawing blood, buzzing around your ears. You can spray pesticides and light all the mosquito coils in the world but that one mosquito will keep buzzing around you. All you need to do is reach out, bring your hands together and kill the buzzing mosquito. Fight it. Labels deserve to killed.

I deserve a life not limited by labels. I deserve the life I dream of. So does every woman in the world, the ones with unshaven legs, hairy underarms and unshaped brows too. My 5 year old needs a world like that and I will do anything to see her eyes light up.

I am ME – no labels needed.

This post is a part of #UseYourAnd activity at BlogAdda in association with Gillette Venus.