Primarily, this is pro-male-dominance. Men could have the jobs which had power, could have political rights, etc. Why is this? Theoretically, my claim is that men had power initially during primal society because of one of the few actual differences in men and women: that of testosterone. Men were (and are) more capable of developing physical strength, and so in hunter/gatherer societies where might made right, men came into power.

There are many laws of the Universe, including that which says "an object in motion tends to stay in motion unless acted upon by an outside force." I would also make the claim that "a group in power tends to stay in power, unless acted upon by outside ideas." So male dominance continued, and the groups of "male and female" were divide, and the female group was cast out of the real "us," into an unappealing territory. Powerless, basically enslaved as a group, uneducated and unable to change the world.

We had a revolution of ideas, which is still coming to its real fruition, which said that women are not inferior. They deserve political power, the right to vote, the ability to hold the same jobs and receive the same wage, to gain education, and far more. Though this isn't globalized, or fully realized, we have made progress. Women are allowed to cross these barriers. Where a women wearing pants was once seen as absurd, it is accepted. Short hair for women, positions of power - all seen as part of how things can now work.

But there are so many ideas which have not been actualized. What we need is not merely a "separate but equal" structure for men and women, but a structure wherein men and women are both part of the "us." Currently, at best, we are part of the same "us" group, but each gender is an outlier - on the outer edges of the concentric circles of "us" for the other gender.

We fear ambiguation. The fact that I myself enjoy singing, art, dance, theatre, and am basically in touch with my emotions led some people to assume (in highschool) that I am gay. Though I believe that gay people should be accepted into the same us, the point I want to make here is that people, by their assumption of homosexual classification are protecting the definitions of their inner "us" by placing those who do not fit into that pattern as belonging to this additional separate group which does not qualify for those standards.

Women should shave their legs so they don't have hairy man-legs. Women should have large breasts so they don't look like boys. Women should keep things like their menstrual cycle secret and private. But what do these things serve to do except mystify the gender, and push them further out of the intimate us?

When I went with my second girlfriend to planned parenthood to learn about birth control, the doctor there congratulated me on being one of the few men who was able to be comfortable with learning about these things, these functions, and these ideas. Because, it would seem, most men are unwilling to de-mystify them. We may use the excuse of something being "unseemly" or "weird," but these things are natural. The most natural, in fact.

And then we have a very important counterpart to these ideas of the mystification of women. While women have gained an equality to men - women can choose feminine or masculine traits if they would like, in general - men have not been granted this permission. Still trapped inside the macho mindset, men cannot show emotion, have feminine professions, or put on feminine appearances.

There is an episode of friends, called "The One with the Male Nanny." In it, the men are startled by one of the female characters hiring a male nanny. They declare that "Men can't be nannies! That would be like women being . . ." and then they trail off, unable to give a right answer, because there is no longer a right answer. Once upon a time, women being politicians, women being soldiers, women being owners of anything could have been appropriate. But it is no longer. Still, men are restricted in their professions.

So here is what I think is best. First, we must eliminate this pre-conceived notion that men and women should appear massively different. The importance of a woman's breasts in a purely sexual sense is minimal, and actual attraction to different breast sizes varies. We should accept as a society that this is fine as well, and accept women not for this hyper-feminized ideal version of womanhood, but for whatever they are, without the concept that they look too "male." We must eliminate the idea of women having to do things like mystify their menstrual cycle (any more than anybody should mystify any other normal bodily function) or that they have to shave their legs.

Is it wrong for a woman to shave her legs? Certainly not. If that's what she likes, and she likes the way it feels or looks, then by all means she may do so. But the point is that it should be her choice, and not society's. Similarly, men should be allowed to shave their legs, wear dresses, or have longer hair. The ambiguity is not an enemy of human relations, but a redeemer. The acceptance of similarity as opposed to differentiation creates a more intimate "us."

Would I shave my legs and wear makeup and a dress? Well, I'd wear certain dresses, if they were comfortable. (In many cultures, people of both genders still do - from robes to kimonos and more). I like the way eye makeup makes me look (I've been in theatre, so I know). I wouldn't want to shave my legs, because it simply doesn't appeal to me. But any given person should be able to decide on these things, and implement them without the threat of becoming a social pariah, or (as many see it, worse) thrown into the categorization of an even more us-separate group: homosexuals.

The removal of homosexuals from this group is an entirely different, albeit incredibly important, issue.

But the need for hyper-masculinity and hyper-femininity is why the power differentiation happens. We have separated the us, and we have put women on the outer edges of the us of social norm. We have separated through appearance, profession, and more what is appropriate for men and women.

There are differences innate in men and women. There are differences in appearance. There are differences in physical and emotional behavior due to hormonal patterns and survival-bred wiring. There are differences in sexual organs. These things are all quite evident, and should be left where they are. We do not need to hide, mystify, explain, or otherwise capture or expand these differences. We are more similar, as genders, then we think.

Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus because we have insisted that this is the case, and created two entirely different worlds and cultures, alienating the genders from one another. And when another group is alien - when another group is entirely "not us," this is when we allow for de-humanization. Those damn Japs in World War II were monsters, not humans. Those savage Indians were not really people, just animals. The blacks were not people, but cursed, diminished things in human body. To those in the Arab world, the white man is a devil. Infinitely "not us."

It is this same "not us" which allows for crimes of rape and abuse, concepts of ownership and control, and so much more. By allowing for ambiguity, we allow for a greater inclusion of "us." If men and women can both shave their legs, or not, then we are the same. If men and women can have their desired profession, then we are the same. If men and women can style their hair the way they want, wear makeup if they want, wear pants or skirts or whatever else - then we are the same.

Many cringe at this idea. Fear has been bred into our society. We hate the idea of ambiguity. Many even claim that God created the two in a way meant to be separate. But did He really? If we assume He is out there, and created mankind, can't we assume that merely the normal, innate differences in hormones, appearance, etc., are precisely what was intended? No more, no less.

I would defend any cross-dresser, drag queen or king, masculine woman or feminine man, to the last. Because what's at stake is not cohesion in society - but an ability to relate to our entire race in a more real, authentic, and de-mystified way. To relate to them, not as "women" and "men," but as "humans." And through this stop the crimes and abuses that have been patterned in us since time immemorial.