People called me a tomboy. That was the term used then. I was very much someone who was comfortable in male clothing, and even later when I grew up, I was constantly wearing dungarees, wearing guy shirts. Shirley Geok-lin Lim More Quotes by Shirley Geok-lin Lim More Quotes From Shirley Geok-lin Lim Poetry must speak of others, in order to speak for the poet's imagination, in order to speak of itself; it is slowed down by poetics after its flight is over. Shirley Geok-lin Lim flight imagination order As I grew older - and even when I was younger - it had puzzled me why I continued and continue to be heterosexual. Shirley Geok-lin Lim puzzled grew As a first-generation "Asian American woman," for one thing, I knew there was no such thing as an "Asian American woman." Within this homogenizing labeling of an exotica, I knew there were entire racial/national/cultural/sexual-preferenced groups, many of whom find each other as alien as mainstream America apparently finds me. Shirley Geok-lin Lim justice america firsts If I could write a novel while I'm walking, I probably would. Shirley Geok-lin Lim novel walking writing Working women went through a time when they believed that. Shirley Geok-lin Lim working-women Writing a poem is unwriting a knot, like untying a shoelace that is clubbing your foot. Shirley Geok-lin Lim shoelaces feet writing Poetry has roots, but they are sometimes cut off and still poetry is written. Shirley Geok-lin Lim cutting roots sometimes [My muse] she's impatient with me, because I don't do what I should do: sit down and write. Shirley Geok-lin Lim muse down-and writing At a certain point, the struggles with teaching and mothering and so on and so forth, those decline, those lessen. Shirley Geok-lin Lim decline teaching struggle Heterosexuality - whichever gender you are - says that the other gender is very important to you. Shirley Geok-lin Lim gender heterosexuality important Agency over one's sexual self - and the articulation of that kind of agency - might seem transgressive to readers who don't expect it in a woman's text. Shirley Geok-lin Lim agency self might I'm in my 60s, and a cancer scare just makes you more aware of mortality. Shirley Geok-lin Lim mortality cancer scare Even today, I'm much more comfortable dressed in a male kind of way. Shirley Geok-lin Lim males today way "Stop Already" is a fairly new poem in a group that was just published by Feminist Studies, which is why I sent them to you. Shirley Geok-lin Lim groups feminist study I was not - even the notion of "could not" seems to suggest a moment of recognition, but it was such a repressed dimension - I was not able to NOT wear a shirt like my brothers could. My brothers would, in the heat, run around shirtless, and I wouldn't do that, obviously. Shirley Geok-lin Lim able brother running With so many brothers, I could always find a pair of shorts to borrow and run around in. Shirley Geok-lin Lim pairs brother running I also wanted to be like my brothers, physically, and yet not physically. So I would constantly - and I think nowadays it's taken for granted that this is what girlfriends do - I would constantly wear their shorts, put on their shirts. That did not seem odd because we were desperately poor for quite a while. It wasn't as if pretty little girlie things were available to me. Shirley Geok-lin Lim girlfriend taken brother The consciousness of one's physical self had to be repressed because, socially, the female body was so visible, an ongoing provocation and incitement of specular curiosity and fascination. Shirley Geok-lin Lim ongoing curiosity self Growing up in Asia in a particular time period - the '50s and '60s - I attended a Catholic missionary school where I was taught by nuns and where consciousness of the body was repressed. Yet at the same time, the female body was a highly visible and sensitive site. Shirley Geok-lin Lim growing-up catholic school As the only girl growing up for a long time with only boys, as you pointed out, it seems like I was always surrounded by guys. There was this sense in which my female body was a problem. Shirley Geok-lin Lim growing-up girl boys
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