Hi, giggypig,
I think I'll make more waves with this... :-P
You said, "there really is alot of men who socialise and function in a female way, and there are many women who socialise and function in a masculine way. Perhaps our personality differences are not gender based???"
Take a look at this article:
http://www.returnofkings.com/76742/how-m...like-women
Bearing in mind it is from a biased source, I still find it spot-on.
As the French said, "Vive la difference!"
If we were truly similar, and MEANT to be truly similar - more like earthworms, say, which are hermaphroditic - I'd think we'd be far less "preferential" in our sexual wants, and our gender questions wouldn't exist, really.
If you can be Masculine or Feminine, but they are essentially the same, why bother going through what we go through?
So there MUST be a difference, in terms of biology.
I also am biased in this, as I have a woman in my life who is NOT supportive, and "tolerates" my oddities provided I don't crossdress, don't go out without a sports bra on (to minimize the "girls" - given that Gyno vests are $80 per, and cheap but effective sports bra is $10-$20?) ... ...
She doesn't like me with "long" (beyond #3 buzzcut) hair, likes me "scruffy" and unshaven, wants me to take charge in everything (but fights me tooth and nail about each and every step!)...
Yet she is "large and in charge" from the time she gets up in the morning. She's my size, roughly - slightly shorter, slightly heavier. LOUD. Aggressive. Very vocal in her disagreements.
If I didn't KNOW she was female, I'd guess she was a guy.
So the point of all of that is also to support that there IS a difference in males and females, and a reason for Masculine and Feminine - and what we're seeing these days is, with no segregation of man and woman, they are increasingly difficult to tell apart.
I think our very existence makes it obvious there's something DIFFERENT from one to the other. I don't want breasts so I can HAVE to wear a bra. I don't want hips and waist (just) to fill out a dress.
I want to look female and feminine because I perceive a benefit to being seen that way by others. Because I see a benefit to BEING that way.
And I've asked more than one woman, when she was being aggressive or coarse or crude, would she prefer to be a man? And the answer is ALWAYS "no". Sometimes, "F*CK, NO!"
But never a yes.
Whereas, asking men the same question, you generally get that same response... And a bit of an odd look.
So, both sexes fall out into their normally-assigned genders fairly well, and don't really want to cross over - which means, they perceive a loss, or at the least, a difference.
But if we are ALWAYS in mixed groups, and ALWAYS worrying about feelings (a feminine trait, grouping together for safety, aka socialization, and the accompanying consensus governance) - males will pick up a lot of feminine expressions. Feminine concerns will nest in their minds. And, vice-versa, women will end up masculinized. Aggressive, body builder types, hating their body because of the softness men actually love... And liking only CERTAIN aspects of men to be hard. E.G., his muscles should be "big enough," but not, "too big." And he should have hair on his head, and facial hair, but no body hair, and ESPECIALLY no BACK hair! (Exaggerating to make the point, but I think most can follow it easily.)
I think we'd be better off if each group could celebrate what makes it unique, but - Here I am, wishing I was a Size 2... Or, hell, a size 20! ;-)
I want the grace, I want the beauty, and I would love to know that sort of power - the face that launched a thousand ships, for example? Women use it all the time, never think about it. And the same girl that has a mouth like a sailor, the social skills of Forrest Gump, and the temperament of a rabid honey badger, is sweetness and light the instant she can profit from acting feminine.
At the same time, a man is ALWAYS "the enemy" in the equivalent situation. (Think traffic stop. She cries, flutters her eyelashes, flirts, and gets off. He is polite, courteous, and gets a ticket. See also, "Duluth model of domestic violence," and think of how The Patriarchy has benefited you, by oppressing women like you mother, sisters, friends, and forcing you to register for Selective Service, while denigrating the respect of serving... the list goes on...)
LOTS of difference there.
How many of us are here to play dress-up? Not many, if any! "Drag" becomes dressing in male clothes.... Living a lie (life) of pretending to be in charge, when you know you're at the mercy of bosses, bureaucrats, even public servants like subway engineers.... Talking football to fit in, while wondering if the girl in the corner cube is wearing sexier panties than you are.... HOPING no one at the surprise HR meeting is a hugger, because BRA STRAPS!!!
Wishing you COULD hug someone who is having an emotional moment... But men don't touch. (Touch a man, you're gay, touch a woman, it's a trip to HR for sexual harassment and sensitivity training.)
And let's not even discuss those who are venomous Leftists! Tolerant of everyone, Provided you do everything their way, right away, no discussion, no observations, no questions! You're white, you're an oppressor! Even white women oppress Muslims, by breathing! (Etc. Truth is stranger than fiction, but we're talking about those who think they do unborn children a FAVOR by murdering them. Google Margaret Sanger...)
I'm sorry, it's getting Ranty.
But there's something Special about women. Otherwise, why bother (trying to, for us) be a woman?
I'll close with Marilyn Monroe's comment, "I don't care that it's a man's world, as long as I am a woman in it."