It’s time for our series of posts here at Jessica Who?, titled “Word of the Week”. In these short articles, from here on out published each Friday, I will explore the various labels and umbrella terms used to label us. By doing this, I hope to educate not only myself, but also anyone who may not be familiar with these terms. Feel free to add your own knowledge to each post by leaving a comment 
.
The label that we will be examining is: androgynous.
Standard Definition
Having both feminine and masculine qualities; gender ambigious.
Derogatory?
No, not inherently though I suppose someone could try to insult another person using this word.
What’s It Really Mean?
An androgynous person displays characteristics of both genders while not conforming to either.
My Take
Okay, I have to admit that my first encounters with this word were not positive. I laughed at anyone who identified as androgynous because I felt like they were confused and needed help to choose a gender to portray. However, as I’ve come to accept myself I’ve discovered that I feel androgynous most of the time. I will elaborate on this in a future post, but suffice to say that I never feel entirely male or female.
I admire people who take pride in their androgyny, because they are true to themselves. They reject society’s notions of gender stereotypes and choose their own path.
Your Take
Have you anything to add? Please leave your take on this word in the comments section, I hope we can open up a dialogue and learn from each other while educating the masses.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Although I was born a female and live as a female married to a man, I often feel pretty Androgynous. I often look like a boy who looks like a girl who looks like a boy type of thing. I love wearing ties and i only shave my armpits for special occasions.
I also have a thing for Androgynous females.
What does that make me? I have no idea…but I don’t really need a label anyhow.
Thank you for the great blog!
Hi Teneisha,
Exactly, no need for labels, especially when you feel so comfortable and confident in yourself. I appreciate the insightful comment.
It’s ironic, that in our binary gendered society, and androgynous female is considered butch, and an androgynous male is considered effeminate. Human beings are big on denial. I often wonder if we will ever evolve to the point, where we fully accept the reality of a poly-gendered society?
Melissa
What a great point (butch – effeminate). A significant part of this is driven by advertising, as we have seen.
My first encounter with this term was Boy George. Geez, he was creepy. Now I’m kinda aiming for androgynous, trying to find a middle ground where I can have what I want and keep what I have. Does this make ME creepy?
I also once thought that artists / celebs like Boy George, who chose to present themselves in such a way were freaky.
No way, it doesn’t make you creepy.
I don’t know if this is relevant, but at one time. I hated getting my hair cut and I wore it down past my shoukders and kept the body hair to a minimum. I had quite a thick head of hair that got me comments from quite a few women. My late wife even decided to see what she could do with it after I told her I was transgender.
I got some stick about the way I looked. I was asked if I was gay, is that a man? That sort of thing.
I was happy with the way I looked and the need to get dressed up wasn’t as strong as it is now. These days the hair is short so I can get the wig on and it is thinning a bit up top. When I go out presenting as female I love wearing jeans and a top Not much different to what I wear usually. I guess I’ve always felt androgynous and up until 5 years ago thats the way I may have looked I never really thought about it. The need to crossdress didn’t hit me as much as it does now,
I don’t know if this makes any sense
Totally relevant and you made perfect sense Karen, thanks for sharing
My personality is fairly androgynous. I like to bake, sow, and chat about fashion, but I also like to mountain bike, program, and play violent video games now and then. At times I’m dominate and others I’m submissive. My life is a whole blend of yin and yang. I say that fitting into a binary would only limit my experience of life and my personal growth.
People mistake me for a girl when I crossdress, so I’m guessing there’s something going down in the genes.
I completely identify with what you said there. Well put.
Great art by the way