The androgyny taboo/fetish.

[maverick]

Lately I have felt really confused about society's contradictory stances on androgyny. It seems like we've got a major culture war going on with regards, to the topic, at least in the United States.

Androgyny seems to have been embraced by the younger generation, especially with the onset of emo music and "the scene", which fashion-wise seems to be feminizing both genders equally, to the point that you can barely tell a boy from a girl:



^ Emo girl



^ Emo boy

Androgyny is HUGE in fashion right now too, with Marc Jacobs even using a MTF supermodel as his hot ticket item for the spring:



However, at the same time, I have heard lots of people (typically middle-aged or conservative) over the years express discomfort or even disgust to me when they unexpectedly encountered someone whose gender they could not decipher. I know from my own personal experience that strangers have felt uncomfortable upon seeing me presented in an androgynous manner.

And of course, a lot of young people are targeted for anti-gay bullying based on their gender presentation, whether ostracized as a girl who is seen as butch or beat up as a boy who is seen as "swishy". Even presenting yourself androgynously when you're not queer can make you a target.

But androgyny has been around for a long, long time. Many cultures' gods are androgynous, or two-gendered (i.e. Shiva). In other cultures, hermaphrodites or other gender-ambiguous people were seen as bad omens and killed.

I don't know, it just seems like society is pulling itself into

[Zontar]

http://www.emo-styles.com/wp-content...6/emo-boys.jpg

Goddamn is that hot.

Oh, right, the topic...

Androgyny has been done frequently as a form of rebellion because it's always been an old person's hot button for some reason (perhaps religious in origin.) Take how back in the sixties men were growing long hair, which was traditionally considered womanly. If wearing purple shoes was an old person's historical hot button, you'd see repeated generations of young men and women wearing purple shoes.

I don't know, it just seems like society is pulling itself into

Think you got cut off there, bro.

[maverick]

Goddamn is that hot.

Word. On both of 'em, I think. Lol.

Think you got cut off there, bro.

Oops. Had a misplaced comma there in that first post too.

What I meant to say was, I don't know, it just seems like human society is pulling itself into warring factions on the topic. Obviously androgyny is embraced by the artistic/musical/fashion community, but is pretty hit-and-miss among everyone else across the planet.

[Bang Bang]

You honestly tackled the same questions I have had for many years about this topic. It just doesn't make sense to me about why people cannot seem to accept this. I guess it's more acceptable in, like you've mentioned, artistic/musical/fashion community because it's seen more as an artistic/fashion statement, an entertainment value. But out of the media, people tend to only fixate on two sexes: male and female.
I really don't understand why it's so hard for some people to look beyond the sex and see the person for who they are. It shouldn't matter how one person dresses or acts, they're still human!
I really hope that people will tend to be less to none judgemental about this topic soon.

[Daniel]

Originally Posted by Bang Bang

You honestly tackled the same questions I have had for many years about this topic. It just doesn't make sense to me about why people cannot seem to accept this. I guess it's more acceptable in, like you've mentioned, artistic/musical/fashion community because it's seen more as an artistic/fashion statement, an entertainment value. But out of the media, people tend to only fixate on two sexes: male and female.
I really don't understand why it's so hard for some people to look beyond the sex and see the person for who they are. It shouldn't matter how one person dresses or acts, they're still human!
I really hope that people will tend to be less to none judgemental about this topic soon.

I think it is because in certain circles, androgyny is an art form. It requires a fluidity between restrictive roles, and creates both a single and double form. As such, androgyny can be used as a shock value.

It is this shock value could be the reason why some people are uncomfortable with androgyny. It eliminates normal gender rules, and can put a normal woman in question of her own gender role. Masculine men all of the sudden are faced with a large question mark. Androgyny is viewable as a threat to a persons normal role in society.

Just the theory I have.