Welcome to my blog and thanks for leaving a comment.

I’m not sure that I agree that femininity, in the mainstream sense, is one-dimensional. Even in the media, we are increasingly seeing various brands of “femininity”. They have a uniting tie, though . . .the physique is nearly always slender and there is something sexy about them, in the sense of pleasing men. So, yes, that element is there but it seems to be extended to various means, or dimensions, of being feminine.

Also, I remember that as a female, I had a lot more leeway for a lot of things. I could get away with saying and doing things that now get me branded as “effeminate” or “gay.” I don’t really care, personally, but I find it interesting to notice.

Thanks again for commenting!

The problem with femininity is that it is too one-dimensional. All too evident in history – women somehow fell off the imperial lineages of ancient Egypt, only to be relegated as the “drawing room” wives of male pioneer explorers who discovered the world beyond the West. Over time, the aim of pleasing her (or a) man (when he is back from a trip or a war) quickly paved the way for the glamour/beauty concept in judging a woman’s ‘quality’. (Marilyn Monroe and Playboy magazine greatly attributed to this.)

Mish: Thanks for sharing your story!

Jace: Thanks for the comment.

Not so much, I’m afraid, we just didn’t have any kens so I decided one of the female dolls should be a boy. He was a cheap knock-off rather than an actual barbie, and his body was hollow, so it was fairly simple to push his boobs in. His hair was also pretty short, which may have been why he was the one to transition. I also drew some stubble on his face with black felt pen (his hair was yellow!) and later made him a plasticine penis so he could have sex with my sister’s barbie…

They–grudgingly–sent some kind of request to Mattel to have them send a new birth certificate with Fred’s name on it. That was one happy day when that piece of paper arrived.

And he didn’t have to go on T or anything!

There were periods when I tried somewhat to fit into society’s standards, but my first year of college said “screw it”. I’d had enough of feeling like a stage character. Only reason I let mum talk me into wearing a dress to senior prom and not a tux was because I was taking a marine.

I was sort of a weird girl for a lot of different reasons – I was too smart, I talked too much and I beat up boys. ~Pat Califia

It’s the first thing people ask: is it a boy? Is it a girl? Well – what the fuck! Why should you care? It’s a baby! Give it a rest, it’s five minutes old! ~Pat Califia