Swimming

Once we arrived at Hospet, a few of us went swimming. A pool in India is interesting because it is dominated by men. At the particular pool we went to today, there were no women swimming at all. We, a group of women, felt a little awkward. We tried to stay as modest as possible by wearing shorts and t-shirts or jogging capris over our swimsuits. Everyone watched us like a hawk, it was a little alarming and awkward too. I wondered what the women who were sitting watching their husbands and children swim thought of us? Furthermore, what did the men think? There was a little girl in the pool, learning how to swim. I couldn’t help but wonder if she’d continue to swim as she got older. If she stopped swimming, when would it happen? Would there be some life-affirming moment where she realized her genderized status? Or would things change by the time she was a woman that her gender wouldn’t keep her from taking a dip in the pool.