I became interested in the subject of constructed gender at a young
age, being *just* androgynous enough to pass as a guy depending on
what I wore and how short I cut my hair. After some lessons in body
language from actor friends, I've spent time as both man and woman,
and this has led me to conclude that society's insistence on gender role
divisions is a form of entropy that holds back everyone, men and
women alike. This is a prime area for personal evolution (and for
discovering more freedom of expression).
There is a lot of good writing on this subject (with the notable
exception of _Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus) but one caution
to anyone looking up papers. A huge number of studies were based on the
BEM sex instrument, a self-identification instrument that has
recently come under heavy criticism for being too culturally
weighted. It is indicative that more and more people register as
'androgynous' on the instrument, and it will either have to be
revised or scrapped altogether.
Sin,
Kathryn Aegis
[caution: not for use with mono devices]