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From: mfs@mhuxr.UUCP (Damballah Wedo)
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: Re: what makes you feel feminine/masculine?
Message-ID: <462@mhuxr.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 15-Oct-85 09:04:29 EDT
Article-I.D.: mhuxr.462
Posted: Tue Oct 15 09:04:29 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 16-Oct-85 06:09:29 EDT
References: <248@ssc-vax.UUCP> <1944@reed.UUCP> <32@ubc-cs.UUCP> <479@enmasse.UUCP>
Organization: The Poto Mitan in the Houmfor
Lines: 33

Great article by Nancy Werlin (<479@enmasse.UUCP>)!!

> So I would vote for a cessation of the perfume/wood chopping articles
> in favor of discussing the ambiguities involved in being 
> masculine or feminine.  How do we resolve the stereotypic 
> masculine/feminine cliches to which we so obviously subscribe?
> Does sexual identify depend on these cliches? 

I don't think so. However, I do feel some traditionally masculine actions
reinforce one's own maleness (the same is true of women.) As an example,
I feel very masculine when my 17-year old nephew seeks me out for advice
on the traditional problems of late male adolescence. I feel very male when I am
in a room full of women, all of whom are blissfully spouting "men are so..."
cliches and I manage not to get upset....

I think one's view of one's sexuality is reinforced by the actions and
situations that reflect it. I know this sounds like circular reasoning,
but if one's view of oneself leads to wanting to wear frilly lace, then
one will feel most like one's sex when wearing frilly lace. The same is true
fixing machine tools. The point is to feel comfortable with that view
of oneself, accept that it may be at great variance with what is expected,
and decide whether that view is important enough to one's self-image
to warrant bucking societal norms. Yes, that requires great strength

and self-confidence, but you can't be well-adjusted without them
(yes, I know I am also saying that one cannot be self-confident without 
being well-adjusted; I don't really have this thought through yet)
-- 

Marcel-Franck Simon		ihnp4!{mhuxr, hl3b5b}!mfs

	" Papa Loko, ou se' van, ou-a pouse'-n alle'
	  Nou se' papiyon, n-a pote' nouvel bay Agwe' "