In the quest to live before you die....
About my gender identity:
It has come to my attention that my enjoyment of wearing dresses and clothes designed for females gives people the opportunity to label me as “transgendered," or “a trannie.”
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender for some context to the term.
So, I was born into the body of a boy. However, for most of my life I have felt that social gender roles are a technique that people use to manipulate and control each other, and therefore (probably due to my relatively anarchist outlook), something to be exposed and potentially done away with.
An example which I've seen repeatedly is the idea that “computers are for boys,” and the ridicule and gender harassment that women and girls often face when asking a question about computers or attempting to understand the mechanics of computer technology. This seems to be very commonplace on the internet in particular, where control of the technology has for a long time had an almost impenetrable gender slant. Growing up, my mother was a damn good computer programmer, and I know first hand that the idea that “computers are for boys" is socially repressive nonsense.
My thesis has, for as long as I can remember, been that gender is irrelevant and that gender roles are obsolete. Well, in recent times I have decided to act on that rationale, and the most direct way I know how to do so is to shed my own gender identity and stereotypes. If I'm serious about gender Not being an imprisonment and means of hierarchy and control, I'd better start with myself. What's freedom if it isn't exercised?
I like to wear dresses because they are an opportunity for creativity and beauty which is otherwise not afforded to me due to the expectation of gender. I feel no more like a boy than I do like a girl. This does not make me gay - I'm not attracted to men. In fact I am extremely oriented towards women. As a man I would be heterosexual; as a woman I would be a lesbian.
In summary, my quest for compassion, justice and bliss has led me to become the subject of the label “heterosexual transgendered vegan.” There you have it.
It has come to my attention that my enjoyment of wearing dresses and clothes designed for females gives people the opportunity to label me as “transgendered," or “a trannie.”
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender for some context to the term.
So, I was born into the body of a boy. However, for most of my life I have felt that social gender roles are a technique that people use to manipulate and control each other, and therefore (probably due to my relatively anarchist outlook), something to be exposed and potentially done away with.
An example which I've seen repeatedly is the idea that “computers are for boys,” and the ridicule and gender harassment that women and girls often face when asking a question about computers or attempting to understand the mechanics of computer technology. This seems to be very commonplace on the internet in particular, where control of the technology has for a long time had an almost impenetrable gender slant. Growing up, my mother was a damn good computer programmer, and I know first hand that the idea that “computers are for boys" is socially repressive nonsense.
My thesis has, for as long as I can remember, been that gender is irrelevant and that gender roles are obsolete. Well, in recent times I have decided to act on that rationale, and the most direct way I know how to do so is to shed my own gender identity and stereotypes. If I'm serious about gender Not being an imprisonment and means of hierarchy and control, I'd better start with myself. What's freedom if it isn't exercised?
I like to wear dresses because they are an opportunity for creativity and beauty which is otherwise not afforded to me due to the expectation of gender. I feel no more like a boy than I do like a girl. This does not make me gay - I'm not attracted to men. In fact I am extremely oriented towards women. As a man I would be heterosexual; as a woman I would be a lesbian.
In summary, my quest for compassion, justice and bliss has led me to become the subject of the label “heterosexual transgendered vegan.” There you have it.