tough, originally uploaded by natashalcd.

Someone wrote…

My sister said “to pass, you need to over-compensate.” So, I wore baggier jeans and t-shirts. I started packing and swaggering a bit more.

The funny thing is, the harder I try, the more people think I’m a butch lesbian.

What happens when you stop trying to pass?

And what are you thinking about gender right now?

ethnic_queer2, originally uploaded by indianer67.

Josh wrote…

I feel really uncomfortable not having a pronoun for myself. I don’t consider myself a “he” anymore, but I don’t see myself as a “she” yet either. I feel stuck in a lonesome inbetween that I feel like no one I know can relate to, which makes it all the more difficult to express my concerns […] Above all, I feel weird, and I don’t want to feel weird. I just want to be myself.

How do you deal with being “weird”?

And what are you thinking about gender right now?

androgynous, originally uploaded by blackhitomi has green eyes.

Quinn wrote…

I’m a person. This doesn’t affect my dress, however […] people seem to think that because I wear skirts, and my fiancee wears pants, that she’s the stronger one in our relationship. Clothing says nothing about how I feel or how I want to be seen.

Do pants and skirts really convey relationship dynamics? If not, or so, explain.

And what are you thinking about gender right now?

Author S.Bear Bergman reads the first chapter of hir book, Butch Is a Noun, at UConn. Bear identifies as butch, prefers ze/hir, and keeps a witty, wonderfully gender non-conforming LJ.

cody shocked, originally uploaded by photography by staci..

Someone wrote…

Too many people think that gender is black or white, male or female, and tied to a person’s biology. In reality, the world of gender is far more diverse than that, and it’s beautiful.

Do you see the gender as a “world”?

And what are you thinking about gender right now?

, originally uploaded by Camilla Camaglia.

BrielleZbub wrote…

Staying in the exact same place of gender is like trying to hold water in your cupped hands while you have to go to the bathroom really bad.

How do you feel gender?

And what are you thinking about gender right now?

gargoyles garden, originally uploaded by nouk|b.

Liz wrote…

In time, I think male and female will be about as useful as using brunette to describe someone, because those terms won’t be attached to as many assumptions as they used to. We’ll have all new sorts of wonderful terms that people will make up as they go along to help others learn who they are.

Have you made up a new term to describe your gender to people?

And what are you thinking about gender right now?

A National Geo clip about the Bugis people in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Contrasting the Bugis’ understanding of complex gender, the voice-over claims that these 3rd, 4th, & 5th gendered people “would be considered transvestites” in the West.

PROUDLY GENDER TROUBLE, originally uploaded by PAJEWSKA.

Someone wrote…

I was describing myself on an online forum, and I said, “I’m a girl, but I’m androgynous.” Unwillingly, I started a gender fight, and I didn’t mean to. I never thought being androgynous was a big deal; it is just the perfect adjective to describe me. Now I’ve discovered androgyny, and I finally feel justified in my desire to shave my head and wear swimming trunks instead of bikinis. I’m probably one of the lucky androgynes, as I have a pretty androgynous-looking body […] I identify as a lesbian, but how am I supposed to be a lesbian if I’m not a female in gender? So I don’t really identify with either. Because I really feel like no gender (or gender-neutral) and am attracted to only women. […] I’m glad I found this website. It’s helped open my mind quite a bit.

How has your gender influenced how you identify sexually?

And what are you thinking about gender right now?

IMG_0134, originally uploaded by AgentRusco.

emma, originally uploaded by riannamaureen.

Long ten land night, originally uploaded by wheeldogz.

Thereisaholeinyourearthatmakesmesmilewithshame…, originally uploaded by Dwam.