Pop Culture Tuesdays V

Sexuality and gender is such a taken for granted fact of life that when something is brought up that reveals just how much we take it for granted, and we are forced to think about it, it is one of the most uncomfortable experiences a person can go through.

Yet it is these disturbing 'exceptions' that also reveal the fact that there is nothing 'natural' about gender and sexuality.

Personally, I'm of the opinion that gender is best thought of as a continuum, with masculine and feminine on opposite sides of this spectrum, but they don't necessarily exist as either-or options. An individual will likely fall closer to one pole than another, but because it is a continuum there is nothing to prevent a person from moving back and forth (as a likely-inflammatory side note, I think sexuality works the same way; ie gay/straight).

The real fun is not to be found on the poles of the spectrum, but it's in the middle where things get interesting. In the case of the gender spectrum, the middle is that fun, wild-west frontier known as androgyny.

For reasons that I won't even being to speculate on, Japanese society seems to be a society much more comfortable with the whole androgyny thing.

Surely, you want visual examples, of course! It wouldn't be a Tuesday post without some eye-candy!(?)

OK. Bonus internet points to those who correctly guess the genders of the people in the following pictures (For the sake of simplicity, you only get to choose male/female, in reality everyone in the pictures would not be so easily labeled male or female, and would better fit into the magical category of Androgynous.).


Who's male? Female?


A little more difficult...


What's hiding under the dress?


A freebie...but in my opinion, the best example of androgyny.


Think carefully on this one.



So, you surely want answers.

They're all male. Or rather, all would be categorized as male by sex. As for gender, that's a whole different (potentially confusing, in more ways than one) issue.

Where you a little attracted? Just a little? Don't lie, yes you were.

It's OK, don't fight it, androgyny is hot.