Sexuality Happens

For those of you who don’t know, in addition to my full time work at hotmoviesforher.com, I also go to graduate school full time on the weekends at Widener University, in persuit of my Master’s in Human Sexuality Education. Right now, I’m taking “Sexual Minorities” (and will be taking “Sexuality and the Law” later in the summer).

So we have an assignment for Saturday, to bring clothing to change into that “makes us feel like the other gender.” The first few minutes after I got the assignment, I was excited. I like to dress like a masculine male every once in a while, and in college, my best friend and I did a mean drag number to “I’m a Lumberjack” by Monty Python. I could back, and bust out some stuble…and then I thought about it. The more I thought, the more issues I had. I realized that I have some beef (real or vegan) with this assignment.

First of all, there are more than two gender options. Secondly, as much drag as I’ve done (for theatre, drag balls, etc), I realize that no matter what I wear, I never “feel” like another gender. I’m always me, my gender (feminine woman), no matter what I wear. Hell, I can strap on silicone, and *I* personally still feel like a woman (with an awesome silicone dildo). I can pack…and while fun (and I do like to grab my crotch), I’m still a woman in men’s clothing. I *can* pass (I know, you’d think the DD boobies are a dead give away, but sports bras, an ace bandage, and gaft tape can do a lot), but it doesn’t change how I *FEEL*.

So instead of busting out my “Larry the Lumberjack” gear, or getting a nice tie to go with my fedora (which I’m sure are perfectly acceptable answers to the assignment), I’ve made a shirt. A black A-line shirt (formerly called wife beaters) with the lettering “CLOTHING DOES NOT GENDER MAKE.” I plan to wear it with boxers and high heels. And nothing else. No matter what traditional, stereotypical items I wear (heels = super high femme, which I’m not. Boxers = masculine/butch/male, which I’m not), I will still be me. Shanna. A relatively feminine woman who doesn’t own foundations, and rarely wears heels, but has an obsession with lingerie.

Wish me luck!