Thomas Gramstad says it like this:

"One of the biggest and most prevalent mistakes in Western Culture is the idea that there exist two separate and 'opposite' genders, masculinity and femininity. This gender dualism is not only false and without any factual or scientific support, but also very harmful.

One strategy to overcome this wrongness is the idea of androgyny, by which masculinity and femininity are not conceived as opposite ends of one spectrum, but as two separate spectrums: you can be or have both at once (or neither), not only the one or the other.

Thus, you can combine the various components of masculinity and femininity in any number of ways, according to your individual preferences, needs and nature.

Should we then strive for an androgynous, individualist, highly diverse culture?"

check out his page.

My response to this is that we shouldn't necessarily strive to all be androgynous, because, of course, we don't all feel androgynous. However, we should strive to not only accept androgyny (and stop freaking out when you can peg someone right away), but also accept that, even within ourselves, none of us are absolutely, 100% completely masculine or completely feminine. it's just not possible. We share aspects of the opposite gender that have nothing to do with our sex or sexuality, but in our personalities and interests etc.

This is why it's ridiculous to say that boys don't cry or that girls shouldn't play certain sports.

There are an infinite number of variables that determine and shape who we are in every way. How is it possible that any of us ends up with what 'society' believes is 100% of anything besides being alive or dead?

I, Androgyne...

Androgynous male model Andrej Pejic (left) with female model Jana K. (right).

What does it mean to call oneself Androgynous?

Dictionary.com simply states:

-neither clearly masculine nor clearly feminine in appearance

Of course it's more complex than that, otherwise this blog would only have a singular post and there would be nothing more to say.

Let's break it down. The prefix "andro-" means male, or man, as in 'androsterone', a hormone produced in the male testes. And the suffix "-gyne" refers to the female reproductive organs, as in 'gynecology'. 

I'm sure this brings up many more questions.

Isn't that just a different way of saying you're a hermaphrodite?

Does it simply describe a person's sexuality?

Is it a counter-culture?

Can someone naturally just be androgynous?

Do you choose to be androgynous?

Is it simply a fashion statement?

I'd like to answer some or all of those questions from my own perspective with a few facts and testimonials to back me up throughout the development of this blog, and I will no doubt share that with you. However, in my opinion, in regards to the androgynous evolution, it's more undefined now than ever. Nothing is ever certain. If you believe that it is, ask yourself that in another 5 years. The grey area is slowly becoming dominant in our culture. And that's what makes androgyny what it is.

This unisex appearance (and more), and its effect on our society challenges the idea that we need to label ourselves in any way, whether it's our gender or anything else.

...to be continued.