Aerosmith put it lightly, “Dude looks like a lady.”
The various groups lobbying and jostling for position in the social structures of today’s society banter back and forth on gender and gender-related issues on a regular basis, yet I think more than a casual glance at the overall picture of where we currently sit with our perception and understanding of human gender roles and realities is warranted. There is, to my thinking, a clear progression of a trend, however unfocused and diversified it can seem at times.
Gender is that which makes a male typically male and a female typically female, as generically defined. It is a classification of a set of properties in a very broad way, much like names are given to fruits to categorize them as to their nature. An apple is an apple, all the time. However, there are vast amounts of variance in the specific types of apples — McIntosh, Granny Smith, Jonathan. And in this way, we have developed our own individual types of sub-genders. You have the “manly-man” — the brutish sort of man, very sure of his masculinity to the point of ignorance. You have the man in between — sensitive yet manly, somewhat brutish on occasion but domestic when required. On the far other end you have your sensitive man — gentle, kind — what would probably be classed as a “sissy” in past times. These different types all fall within the typical classification of “male” yet differ in their individual implementations.
The female gender has similar sub-groupings, ranging from the tomboy to the princess.
In earlier centuries, males were taught to be tough and brutish, hard and unyielding. They were taught the engines of war, destruction, construction, founding, toiling, and were instructed in the use of and manipulation of points of power. Leaders were always male, chiefs and soldiers were male, the elite were male.
In this current society, not all leaders are men. We have powerful women at the top of society (Carly Fiorina comes to mind), women in armies, and in positions of power in government, military, and spiritual leadership. While these women have not ceased to still be women, they have taken on many of the characteristics of the men that preceeded them. Tougher, more unyielding, able to face the pressures and requirements without mental anguish.
Many would say that women have always possessed those abilities and they were simply oppressed. In some ways, I would agree. There is no doubt that there were women with such properties in history — Joan of Arc was a powerful woman in her time. The stifling force of male dominance and patriarchical societal structures beat ableminded women into submission for many centuries.
However, I also think that, in part, women were ‘bred’ to be submissive in the same way that men were bred to NOT be submissive. Now, before you call down the wrath of the gods on me for blasphemous remarks, read on. Successful men were those that were brutish, manly, and tough. Successful women were those that were submissive yet talented, sensitive and hard-working. Society favored a particular sub-type of each gender, and in part, dominance and success of that sub-type propogated the society.
As with all things, society changes with the motions of the world economy and political rearrangements. At some point, the sub-type of women who were NOT submissive and willing to be trod upon started posting notice in the realms of men that they were not to be trifled with. The social structure struck them down, but by the time it did, the idea was within people’s heads. Again and again women tried to rise to the top, to push through the boundaries set and succeeded in small amounts, then larger. As this push became more insistent, those with the ability to rebel against the mainstream became the subtype that society started to encourage instead of the submissive subtype.
Now women are becoming or are already at the same level of men in terms of their acceptance in society (again, it depends on your area and situation). Successful women propogate, those that submit are usually ground down into the lower classes of society and appear less and less. Women have particular gender ideals to climb, to aim for. Little girls are automatically raised with the notion that gender equality is the bedrock of society and their abilities should be considered equal to males.
Thus we see a pattern starting to form — changes in society prompt changes in the genders and changes in the genders are the propulsion behind the changes in the society. The empowered women of the 21st century are the reverse Laffer curve of culture.
Now, let’s turn our attentions to the gay and lesbian subtypes. They have recently pushed themselves into the mainstream society from the “closets”, as it were. The gay and lesbian movement has brought on a mixture of the gender sub-groups — feminine men and manly women. They have crossed the lines of the typical classifications into the OTHER side of the equation. This was, as we’ve seen in history, originally considered an aberration. Since that time we have socially moved towards a more tolerant and accepting policy towards these manifestations of subtypes that appear outside what is thought to be “typical”.
They were the submissive subtypes of genders, albeit crossover subtypes, that were ominously suppressed by the societal momentum. But things are now changing for this emerging community. Acceptance and tolerance of the homosexual lifestyle is appearing much like the increased awareness and open-mindness of the feminist movements in earlier decades. The homosexual community is using this open door (however narrow it might be at times) to inject their thoughts, ideals, and gender memes into the heart of society, causing change and adjustment as the old society tries to digest the new ideas and standards that are being thrust within it.
The gender subtypes, as they exist, have always been constant up till now. However, two developments are conceiving within the gender spectrum:
One, the dominant subtypes are shifting. No longer is the dominant subtype strictly “brutish male”. As women gain position within society, this necessarily falls as a balance to the shift. Brutish males can no longer be successful in mating with the equivalent of “brutish female”. With less submissive women, the brutish male gets to eat his Spaghetti-Os alone more often. As we see in many television shows, multimedia, and literature, the “sensitive” man is now the primary ideal for many women. Make Your Man More Sensitive say some articles, Get Him to Share His Feelings touts another. The caveman who claimed his wife by beaning her with a club and dragging her back to the hole in the mountain is no longer the catch-of-the-day.
This shift in gender subtype balance is being further offset by the rise of the homosexual community. Sensitive men are being propogated because not only do they appeal to the non-lesbian female subtypes, but they appeal to the gay-male subtypes. Likewise, women are being brought up into the more powerful and less submissive subtype due to the men that are attracted to them as well as the lesbian-females that enjoy that particular variety.
Secondly, as I said above, subtypes are being created as a crossover between the sexes is created in the feminine-gay-male and the manly-lesbian-female. These are types that cross the genders and make the mix much more homogenous. The more the gender subtypes fracture into sub-subtypes and crossed-subtypes, the more the societal makeup is leveled.
This brings me to my view of the progress of gender so far within society. I believe that it is moving in the direction of the even playing field for all gender subtypes. As women rise towards manliness, men fall toward femininess, and the homosexual community encourages the propogation of the middle and crossover subtypes, I believe we will see a society where genders start to fall more and more by the wayside as a separation factor. Men will no longer differentiate that much from women in terms of typical gender roles and emotional and psychological responses. Wearing a dress will not necessarily declare you as a woman, nor pants as a man — even now we see these trends and their responses.
What is in store for the future, then, both in terms of society, philosophy, and psychology? I believe we will see society continue to be more and more accepting of gender-bending, as it were, and the crossings of members into one or both genders on a generic basis. Philosophically, I believe we’ll see more of this particular type of societal movement predictions, the increase of feminist philosophy (but only to the point that it balances continued male dominance) and the eventual combination of genders within a philosophically-global arena. In terms of psychology, I think we will see people developing that no longer see gender as a single life decision. Already we see many people who live parts of their lives as one gender and then switch upon “discovering” their “true” gender. I think as time goes on, “true” genders may very well change several times within the lives of people. Just as humans go through distinct emotional changes during life, even after physical development, I think you will see people whose gender changes several times based on life events, influences by other people, or development of their mental and emotional structures.
Overall, I think society is set for a balancing act in the realm of gender, perhaps even one day melting apart the last of the lines as we pursue a forward development.
