[Arielle]

It has to be genetic and cultural, there is no tangible difference except for a couple of a couple of Genes, there isn't anything else than body chemistry that seperate the two sexes.

Genetically there has to be a recognition that the species is innately conditioned to propagate and survive. In survival of any mammal the reproductive system shuts down, and when times are good, we are on hormone overdrive to breed.

I think the cultural element is more profound here in some ways, because it happens so overtly and as there is no means of control, you cannot measure it's effect. For example, a baby girl is given 'girly colours', these things are associated from an early age.
When we look at behaviours (I am specifically talking of a western/Christian style upbringing specifically here, as I have no experience of other systems), there is great effort taken in most cases to allow individual freedom, but blanket brainwashing for the two sexes, and this happens from before speech is understood. Baby TV also reinforces the gender stereotypes, as do playgroup/school/grandparents/friends etc.

Certainly during the early periods of history the religions actively encouraged contraception to boost population growth (more followers == more money and power). The Romans had many contraception methods that worked, and were all later banned in the dominant faith systems. (But then the Romans also had relative flexibility in their own spirituality and could mostly choose their gods).

Anyhow looking a bit further back in time, and the key point of my post was it wasn't always this way we have today. The Spartans had institutionalised homosexuality. To the extent that to propagate the population, women often had to dress up as boys to have a successful liaison. To that extent (and ultimately the demise except for a couple of unfortunate wars) the system became so efficient at effecting behaviour that it was no longer viable to maintain a population.



So to come back to the point, I think it is basic insecurity that it built into the way we think when we are young. To cover Missed Miss's point, the technology we have today gives people an option, but then in the last 50 years or so, the technology we have now bears no resemblance to what we had. This has had a profound effect on peoples ability to express these things. The Internets has allowed like minded people to connect in a way they have never been able to do so before.

Literature and history is replete with examples of 'troubled' people, isn't this a way to illustrate without saying (because it was physically dangerous then), that identity issues could have been suffered.

My 5 pennies, sorry it is so long.

GM