A famous apparel brand here in the Philippines is famous for its tag line: “It’s fun being a girl.” And thinking about whether this line is true or not reminds me of the extemporaneous speech I recently delivered in Comm III class. It’s about why the female species should also be allowed to make the first move in dating or starting intimate relationships. The thing is, even if women and men are now being entitled to the same rights such as the right to education, the right to vote, the freedom of speech etc, men and women are still not equal. There are still a lot of things only men can do and women cannot, such that if a woman starts doing it, she is disparaged and mocked, which really shouldn't be the case. In terms of making the first move, I really think this should not only be exclusive to the male species so long as the girls don't come too strong. By that I mean the approach should not go to the extent of losing one's dignity such as kneeling infront of the person and forcing him to go out with you, stripping and touching the guy. If one does this, chances are all the guy/s will lock themselves in their houses and never come out again and nobody would want that of course because it's detrimental to productivity and the population, yada, yada, yada. Moving along, here are the reasons why girls should be allowed to make the first move. 1. Not all guys have the courage to initiate or start things rolling. They are either scared of being rejected or are just too focused on waiting for the so-called "right" time when the timing would be perfect and the girl would be impressed. However, the "right"  time never comes sometimes but when it does, often it is too late because the girl could no longer be interested or has found someone else. Even if guys can be obvious sometimes, girls can do nothing but just wait for guys to make the move because that is what is expected of them. And so, it's a sad scenario. Sometimes, guys even end up in wrong relationships out of convenience. Since they're too scared of being rejected by the girls they really like, they court someone else, someone who isn't as challenging which really isn't fair for either girls and for the guy too. 2. Girls are suffering in silence and the more they are deprived to make the first move, the more they suffer. I mean, what's the point of liking someone if you can't even tell him? It's totally pointless. Girls can only go as far as to research on their prospects i.e. talking to his blockmates or buds and getting to know his interests and other info and perhaps using the exposure effect i.e. being visible to your prospect at all times and it ends there. If he notices you, good for you. If he doesn't, better luck next time. This kind of set-up sucks because girls can't do anything else. It's just like playing a game when right from the start, they already knew they were going to lose anyway. It's also like holding on a sneeze. It will eventually blow out and when it happens, it's just gross and becomes something you would want to forget about. The point is, even if girls hide their feelings, it will not be kept like that forever. There would come a time when it would explode in the form of the girl blurting it out infront of her love interest and the guy would definitely be freaked out. The encounter would of course be traumatic for both parties and so it would be awkward for them to deal with each other in the future. But it doesn't end here. The girl could be traumatized to the extent of her not wanting to deal or relate with the opposite sex anymore. 3. Times are changing and so we might as well be consistent with these changes. Since girls are now being entitled to the same rights as guys, then why not extend it to other things such as making the first move? And besides, this set-up willnot only benefit the girls but also the boys who have been put in a box to play this role. If girls will be allowed to make the first move, boys will no longer be pressured to do the first move and the relationship would become more dynamic since it would now be a race between the two parties on who will be making the first move. So there. Going back to the question is it fun being a girl, I would have to say that it depends. In tems of having lots of shoes, shopping, getting hair treatments and prettified, well the answer is yes. But in terms of not making the first move, my answer is no.