Androgyny :3

[Sylph]

Now, it's not often I start my own threads :3 , but this is one I care about.

Something recent made me decide to create this thread and I want to see what you guys think about it and you're views on it. (good and bad, but constructive please, no h8 :3 )

The topic is Androgyny , as is the topic name :3.

A basic overview of Androgyny would be when a man is born with physical similarities as a female and vice versa. Likewise, the mental similarities is also shared between the two.

Now, though many guys dress in drag or go through cosmetic/transgender surgery to become a girl or a girl becomes a Drag King or goes through cosmetic/transgender surgery to become a guy, these aren't Androgyny per se. Dressing specificly to look like the opposite sex is cross dressing, but if the actual identification of the person in question cannot be determined from looks, than that is Androgyny. Psychological Androgyny would be the inability to side with being either masculine or feminine and see themselves as a mix of both. Not the same as "average" or "normal", as alot of psychological factors tie in to this(see wikipedia reference above).

Before I go on, it's not a condition like downs syndrome or asbergers, and it's not as common as you'd think.

For some reason, Asians have the highest rate of Androgyny, mostly in males, than any other country(I have no clue why).

For a personal insight into this; I can volunteer myself. Now I'm not super Androgynous, but have, quite frequently, been mistaken for a girl, even now, after I've cut my hair off. The qualities I would say personally that make me appear this way would be;
Slim body
Long legs (i'm 6"1)
big bum(I'm not being silly, i'm part black)
feminine facial structure(straight jaw, rather than square)
big eyes(it's considered feminine to have larger eyes, masculine to have small ones)
Single hunched eyebrows(Normally men have double hunched, women have one)
Long eyelashes
Big lips(that is the black part of me I think)
Long fingers(which is again considered feminine)

And that's it I believe. These are my assessments of myself, and I don't care if you all dis-agree, I'm just giving you my reasons.

In contrast to my brothers, all of whom have
Stocky body
Long legs(but thicker)
flat bum(well, the 2nd eldest has a big one too)
A square jaw
smaller eyes
Double hunched eyebrows
Short eyelashes(my youngest brother has long eyelashes like me <3 )
Big lips(the 2nd eldest brother, the other 2 have thin lips. But we're black so its normal)
Stubby fingers(my youngest brother is still growing, so I don't know yet.)

Now i'm not a pervert or anything , but we hangout often, and often they find reasons to play fight, so we come into contact alot. Plus, they're my brothers, so it's not like I'm interested anyway. I always compare my looks to theirs, cause they look more "guy like" than me.

Anyway, so these are the reasons why I believe people give me double looks, especially when my hair was long last year.

If you still haven't got any idea what I'm talking about, here's some picture examples.

Some of the older members might know this man;
Boy George



Yes he plays on his Androgyny, so it looks more exaggerated, but he's still feminine looking.

Eurythmics lead singer Annie Lennox



It's believed she has a very boyish like face. Somewhat like Ellen DeGeneres.

Siberian Model Andrej Pejic



A very good example

And the list goes on.

Basically, what do you guys think about this phenomenon? I've thought about it alot, because it affects me and people always say, "oh you're so pretty" or they give me looks like they're unsure. It's been this way since about 13/14. I used to look like a regular boy, but now If I apply alittle mascara, grow my hair long and pluck my eyebrows abit, I could go out on the town as my girl twin. People would probably see I'm a guy, because of how tall I am, but I did put on eye make up before when my hair was long for halloween last year, and some little kids who came to my door called me ma'am!

I know you guys will probably be saying "I don't like girly guys" or "too much like a woman", but that's not what I'm looking for. I want to know how you guys feel about this, if you've met people like this or are like this yourself. Most people who are Androgynous(men usually), are gay and so would be likely be seen in our communities. Just my curiosity getting me (don't let it kill the cat :3).

(I put this in the Health and sex section, because it affects Mental health and probably sex as well. I know that personally, the part of the brain that controls sex for me is smaller than how it should be. Though I contribute that to high estrogen. You could look at my profile picture and see how I look, though I'm wearing a wig in that pic, so beware. :p)

Remember, no h8. Or I will find you

[DarkDaisuke]

Adrogyny to me is quite interesting. Moslty because when a man or woman is asked if they're a man or woman, its just kinda funny to me. Only way it matters to me is if Im into them and then it'd matter if they had a dick or vagina. Otherwise, I wouldn't care and would just find it as an aspect of that person. I do have to say those people in the photographs are quite beautiful and they fool me a good number of times haha

[Pix]

I see myself as a mix of both mentally, though I don't think of myself as androgynous.

In my early childhood I guess I was girly (though I wasn't afraid to get dirty and my clothes got a lot of tears in them) until I was about 7 when I was shunned by the other girls for being weird and had to play with the boys, which I did ok, though there were occasional problems. I felt grateful when I was finally able to bond with a new girl who moved nearby when I was 10, however. Yet as I continued to grow up I always seemed to have more guy friends and guy interests than girls. My athletic hobbies contributed to my not having enough body fat to enter puberty (at least not continuous, I'd enter it briefly off and on at times) contributing to my androgynous appearance.

And I consider myself as going through an androgynous phase from age 17-22, and I was even called a "boi" by many lesbians. My body was still pretty narrow (I'd grow curves at about age 22 as well as gain a couple of more inches and my breasts going from AA to B--yes, I know this is very weird, but doctors have been commenting on my body's strange sexual development since I was 13-14), and I had short hair with tomboyish dress, perhaps the most stylish thing I wore being my Docs (military looking Doc Martens). I was a lot more athletic back then and something of an adrenaline junkie (btw, after my breasts finally grew out--though they remain small to this day--I finally realized another reason why you don't see many women in violent mosh pits...:redface.

Then at 22 I got involved with a stud and she wanted me to be more feminine. I did, found it incredibly useful and getting a lot more acceptance from society, and over time even got to like it. I do sometimes get frustrated with having longer hair, and I cut it a couple of years ago (though it was a feminine pixie cut that time). I now fill both feminine and masculine roles, feel comfortable in both, yet feel (and look) feminine (if a bit muscular) rather than androgynous.

If gender identity and sexual orientation were a choice rather than something we're born with, I'd CHOOSE to be an androgynous bisexual rather than a chapstick (with strong feminine leanings) lesbian, as it seems the most free, adaptable, and versatile, all 3 traits I very much prize.

As to what I think of it in others, I find it fascinating and attractive. I've only had 2 serious sexual relationships with guys (at age 17 and 19) and both were androgynous (and one a cross dresser as well). I have to say that even though it didn't work out in the end, and I will never ever go back to her, the stud I was with for years was the hottest looking woman I've ever been with (of course her being blasian helped as for some reason I find those features beautiful). Though it's weird, I LOVED how my stud had well developed muscles, but I felt self-conscious and cut back on my weight training a lot once my muscle tone started getting TOO good (and I don't even know why).

[Inchante]

I used to be mistaken for a female all the time when I was young. At my first job in HS people would call out, "excuse me mis", when they were trying to get my attention.

The first time I went to a gay bar, I was hit on by a lesbian. No, not a bisexual woman, a lesbian. After a brief conversation about music, she started rubbing my chest. When I asked her what she was doing, she said, "looking for your breasts".

Today no one would ever mistake me for being a girl. Sometimes youth is what makes a person physically androgynous and it is outgrown.

[Rainbowmum]

I think it is more popular in Asia due to their customs.
If I remember correctly , in some tribes in Samoa some boys are brought up as girls .

Fa'afafine is seen as a third gender.

They can have sexual encounters with both men or women , but it is taboo to have sex with each other.

[pellaz]

i dont know why i like the image above, just to deep inside me to figure out easily. it actually looks like a straight best friend Andy i ran with.

but you might consider seeing two gay movies:
first one imdb "XXY"
the second: unable to find it but will looky around the file server.

[Zet]

Some parts of the body will never stop growing like for instance the noose and ears, as a big noose is more masculine then feminine it appears that with age, one becomes more masculine in shape.

[pellaz]

Zerophilia (2006)

[Sylph]

Gah! I wish my lights didn't go out. Dang light pole!

On my phone guys, so I can't comment individually on what you guys have said so far, but I'll try to cover it broadly, until my lights come back on :3.

~
@Dai- That's nice to hear :3 . For some reason, people here don't think that way :/ . And yes, they are pretty <3 lol.

@Pix- Very interesting. Well for me, I grew up as a boy would, but feminity has always been a part of my life and I was very sensitive growing up. Not much in the muscle department, even now :p . That type of mentality can be Androgynous, but if you don't think it fits :/ .

@Inchante- wow, that must've been an experience. Maybe that's so for a lot of people, but I feel like I was more "boy like" when I was younger and when puberty hit, everything changed. Even my mom says I changed into her swan :3 (my mom's weird -love her though ) it has something to do with the amount of Androgens you're exposed to in the womb, and genetics I suppose.

@Mum :3 - Very interesting! Never heard of them. Androgyny is considered another sex, but techically, it's a vague combination of both.

@Pellaz- Does Pellaz have a thing for Andrej? (J/k ) He is very pretty. I have a friend who is a model(aspiring) and she's jealous of him! Lol. He's a very good example of what Androgyny is all about.

@Zet- Big noses are pretty common here(I guess it's a black thing), but I don't think it's necessarily a masculine or feminine thing. It might, but I don't know :p . I thought I used to have really big ears as a kid, but as I grew, they flattened to the side of my head and now their my cute little musical devices .

~
Whew,did I cover everybody :x .

To add, I would like to say that this isn't very common in my family either. Atleast not the males in my family. A few of my female relatives can pull off a gruff look in my opinion. I definetly feel like the black sheep, but the girl cousins in my age group constantly want to do my eyebrows and what not.

It's good to hear some constructive responses .

I left the house today, and a group of guys who hang out by my house(neighbors), stared openly and one of them even tried to stop me to talk to me. I've become used to it, and contrary to visual belief, I can defend myself > .

I personally wonder how people like Andrej fare leaving the house :x .

More replies please
Lol, hungry for replies :o :p.

[AlephNull]

Do you enjoy being androgynous? It sounds fun, being able to be viewed as a guy one day, and then a girl the next. I mean, I know its not all sunshine and rainbows, but its definitely gotta have its upsides right?