Any other gender diverse people here?

KillerQueen1971 said:

Agreed tho how do you define male & female activities, I've got a female friend into aviation and railways, and I'm a female who loves things  with engines, especially railway locomotives. I collect teddy bears

Well I don't collect teddy bears but I certainly have plenty of plushies! Including a gargantuan Pikachu lol...

I try not to define things, I reverse-engineer my definitions technically from what goes on around me. For instance if more than 50% of people do X (or if the largest segment of the local population does X, even if they don't make up 50% or more) then I start to 'see' (not 'define') that as 'normal'. What is normal? The average action, reflection, representation or response numerically. Normal does have a definition.

I see female activities as those which most female humans perform numerically with a sharp drop-off in male-oriented activity adoption. I see male activities as the reverse (makes sense to me). Of course - all of these have exceptions as you quite rightly point out.

Where I'm different is that instead of wanting everyone and everything to 'forget' what gender is and means, I remember - but celebrate both 'aspects' of the self simultaneously. This is the true application of diversity, as it allows people al their different internal selves to remain 'distinct' and therefore 'diverse'. If you average everything out to a genderless quantity, you factually have no diversity as everyone and every inner-self becomes homogeneous ("the same") with no differences. Where you have difference, you have diversity - and it's diversity which I really rate.

I like to engage in girly stuff and do girl things and relate to those activities in that way and identify as female. I also like to engage in manly activities and have a crazy chest-thumping, beer pounding time on occasion as well. When I do that stuff - I like to identify as male. Instead of trying to 'flatten' gender I like to celebrate it in all its many forms and engage with gender and its many different aspects. This helps me to grow as a human being - and to understand those around me better, most of whom have very strong gender affinities.

In this way I never have to be left out, but I can also celebrate gender-diversity and get the full human experience which is very important to me!

I love Tolkien tho does he appeal more to men or women? I love Rock and Metal music where the fanbase seems to be more male.

I think you'll find that Tolkien's works such as LoTR and the Silmarillion are celebrated by an audience relatively equal, both parts masculine and feminine. I have had loads of female ex's who loved it, I love it myself, many of my male friends love it. I love things that bring the genders together I think it's fantastic!

Alternative music at the very heavy / extreme end does tend to have a more masculine following, but there are also loads of awesome metal-chicks. I know plenty.

All I'm saying is, instead of neutering gender, why not allow them to remain distinct whilst celebrating femininity and masculinity in equal measure? That's what I do

I have done amateur alternative modelling when I was younger to help my friends who were photography students:

• http://darkanvas.deviantart.com/gallery/29008280/Modelling

I wore loads of makeup and did all the long hair, bright colours and crazy outfits. It was really fun! I went on nights out like that too - but I got some negative responses as well as positive ones. People would ask me if I "thought [I] was a girl?" which for a start, isn't an insult to me as I believe both genders equal. That being said, the aggression was unmistakable and that I did find insulting.

In the end I decided to have a male self and a much more feminine self. I don't regret my choice and am very happy whilst remaining biologically male (though obvs I have lots of trans freinds and think that is great too! Just not for me...)

KillerQueen1971 said:

Agreed tho how do you define male & female activities, I've got a female friend into aviation and railways, and I'm a female who loves things  with engines, especially railway locomotives. I collect teddy bears

Well I don't collect teddy bears but I certainly have plenty of plushies! Including a gargantuan Pikachu lol...

I try not to define things, I reverse-engineer my definitions technically from what goes on around me. For instance if more than 50% of people do X (or if the largest segment of the local population does X, even if they don't make up 50% or more) then I start to 'see' (not 'define') that as 'normal'. What is normal? The average action, reflection, representation or response numerically. Normal does have a definition.

I see female activities as those which most female humans perform numerically with a sharp drop-off in male-oriented activity adoption. I see male activities as the reverse (makes sense to me). Of course - all of these have exceptions as you quite rightly point out.

Where I'm different is that instead of wanting everyone and everything to 'forget' what gender is and means, I remember - but celebrate both 'aspects' of the self simultaneously. This is the true application of diversity, as it allows people al their different internal selves to remain 'distinct' and therefore 'diverse'. If you average everything out to a genderless quantity, you factually have no diversity as everyone and every inner-self becomes homogeneous ("the same") with no differences. Where you have difference, you have diversity - and it's diversity which I really rate.

I like to engage in girly stuff and do girl things and relate to those activities in that way and identify as female. I also like to engage in manly activities and have a crazy chest-thumping, beer pounding time on occasion as well. When I do that stuff - I like to identify as male. Instead of trying to 'flatten' gender I like to celebrate it in all its many forms and engage with gender and its many different aspects. This helps me to grow as a human being - and to understand those around me better, most of whom have very strong gender affinities.

In this way I never have to be left out, but I can also celebrate gender-diversity and get the full human experience which is very important to me!

I love Tolkien tho does he appeal more to men or women? I love Rock and Metal music where the fanbase seems to be more male.

I think you'll find that Tolkien's works such as LoTR and the Silmarillion are celebrated by an audience relatively equal, both parts masculine and feminine. I have had loads of female ex's who loved it, I love it myself, many of my male friends love it. I love things that bring the genders together I think it's fantastic!

Alternative music at the very heavy / extreme end does tend to have a more masculine following, but there are also loads of awesome metal-chicks. I know plenty.

All I'm saying is, instead of neutering gender, why not allow them to remain distinct whilst celebrating femininity and masculinity in equal measure? That's what I do

I have done amateur alternative modelling when I was younger to help my friends who were photography students:

• http://darkanvas.deviantart.com/gallery/29008280/Modelling

I wore loads of makeup and did all the long hair, bright colours and crazy outfits. It was really fun! I went on nights out like that too - but I got some negative responses as well as positive ones. People would ask me if I "thought [I] was a girl?" which for a start, isn't an insult to me as I believe both genders equal. That being said, the aggression was unmistakable and that I did find insulting.

In the end I decided to have a male self and a much more feminine self. I don't regret my choice and am very happy whilst remaining biologically male (though obvs I have lots of trans freinds and think that is great too! Just not for me...)