There are two definitions for androgyny: physical (intersexual) - born with both male and female genitals; and psychological
- combining both masculinity and femininity as traits of a unified
gender that defies social roles and psychological attributes. The common
usage of the term 'androgyny' in society refers to the latter
description. As to the sexual orientation, an androgynous person can be
heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual.
In fact, evidence of androgyny being embraced by
society appears everywhere - institutionalized in entertainment and
fashion cultures, more explicitly in expanding gay and lesbian
communities. As trendsetters, entertainment and fashion industries have
played an influential role in advancing a challenging perspective on
human sexuality for modern times. In the 1980s, androgynous musicians -
Boy George, David Bowie, and Prince - made headlines as they captured
the world's fascination with sexual ambiguity. Perceived as a worldwide
idol, Michael Jackson personifies androgyny with his falsetto voice and
effeminate manners. Since the 1980s, Hollywood has produced movies
depicting sensuous beauties - Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct, Milla Jovovich in Resident Evil: Apocalypse, and Uma Thurman in Kill Bill -
as intelligent, tough, and strong adversaries in leading roles.
Nowadays, female stars are expected to perform equally well in all the
exciting moves and dangerous stunts as their male counterparts.
Capitalizing the growing social affinity to
androgyny, the fashion industry promoted the meteoric rises of fashion
designers - Helmut Lang, Giorgio Armani, Pierre Cardin, to name a few -
for their unisex-styled clothes. To this day, glamorous male and female
models sporting androgynous garments have often been found strutting
down catwalks or posing for the covers of fashion magazines. Recently,
the cosmetic companies have joined in to lure metrosexuals
(aesthetically conscientious straight men) to the lucrative markets of
beauty products which once were considered exclusively for women. As
reports trickled in, cosmetic surgeries have surged for both women and men in North America, Europe and Asia.
During the 'counter-culture' revolution in the
1960s, music and fashion industries inspired a trend towards
self-exploration emphasizing individual freedom and self-realization.
The women's liberation movement of the 1970s refuted the idea that women
were 'naturally' passive, emotional, and weaker than men. The notion of
androgyny wasn't accepted in society until Dr. Sandra Bem, who was
honored the American Psychological Association Distinguished Scientific
Award in 1976, introduced the concept of 'psychological androgyny' to
describe those men and women who did not fit into traditionally defined
gender roles. She also forwarded the view that a blending of masculine
and feminine dispositions is more adaptive than stereotypic emphasis on
either alone. At the heels of Bem's revelation, the gay liberation
movement embraced the idea of androgyny, for it allowed lesbians and gay
men to show their gender characteristics openly in society.
Subsequently, the prevailing wind for social changes started
to sweep across the globe, empowering women and softening the image of
men, while altering the perception of human nature consisting of
opposite sex roles to human nature unifying two complimentary sex roles
as a legitimate gender.
The spread of the androgyny movement could also be
fueled by the economic transformation of the workforce in developed
countries. As nations became more affluent, greater amount of energy was
required for production, thus businesses demanded a larger number of
workers (men and women) to the workforce. The economic situations of
wealthy nations enabled women to work with men as 'equals' due to the
current elevated women's status in male-oriented societies.
As a result, many rich nations have observed
similar findings: a lower childbirth rate because some working women
tend not to marry or delay marriages past their prime for childbearing; a
higher divorce rate due to many collapsed marriages when working
parents didn't spend enough time together with their families; and an
increase of unmarried people as more singles enjoy their financial
independence and individual freedom. Perhaps, the metrosexuals have
evolved from the economic circumstances in urban areas where those men
have to compete not only with other men but also with women for jobs, as
well as to appear attractive to the opposite sex. To deal seriously
with the negative aspects of family unit erosion, the governments need
to provide efficient childcare facilities to help working couples and
incentives for women to bear children, so to be in step with social
climate changes.
Evidently, the rise of singles and singled-parents
in society has led to the emergence of individual autonomy. Regarded
highly in democracy, individual autonomy upholds the pursuant of one's
rights, happiness and freedom in personal choice of living. Individual
freedom includes the right to express personal sexual orientation. It
seems as lifestyles continue to change, society has accepted human
sexual diversity as manifestations of humanity.
In reality, human sexual diversity had long existed
in world civilizations. In fact, bisexuality was institutionalized in
ancient Greece and Rome where men practiced homosexuality in the form of
pederasty (male mentorship) while maintained heterosexual relations
with their wives for procreation. Historically, pederastic relationships
were found in writings and arts not only in western cultures but also
in non-western cultures as in China, Japan, South Pacific, and Middle
East. Even world religions have embraced numerous deities and
demi-deities with androgynous qualities, such as Hapi (Egyptian), Dionysos (Greek), Shiva (Hindu), and Obatala (Voudoun religion in Africa, South America and the Caribbean).
What caused the obsolescence of androgyny was the
prominent rise of Christianity which buried the culture of androgyny and
drove same-sex relationships underground. In the traditional biblical
point of view, God created human beings in His own image. They are not
accidental, but essential part in the grand scheme of things.
Homosexuality defies the purpose of God in humanity as male and female,
and therefore is a perversion against God and Creation.
The argument for the revival of androgyny offers a
contrary perspective in two-fold - human is by nature androgynous; and
humanity is an accident of evolutionary process. First, androgyny in
humanity is 'natural' since all humans are born with both sex hormones.
Furthermore, men and women have the same emotions but their gender
behaviors are conditioned by social norms varying from culture to
culture. By discarding the imposed restrictions and inhibitions, one
would discover the 'natural' androgynous self. Second, humanity is an
accidental creation of Nature. Evolution underlies the 'natural' process
of change in which accidents are created without any divine
intervention. Thus, humanity is one of the accidents created in the
evolutionary process of Nature.
Apparently, the increasing global attraction to
androgyny indicates that the modern theory of evolution holds greater
sway than the traditional doctrines of Christianity. Some may believe
that androgyny is just a passing trend, and others may think that it's
part of the evolution of humanity. Whichever it is, one thing seems
inevitable - as the world becomes more integrated and complex, society
will adapt pervading changes as social norms to move humanity forward in
its social evolution.
(First published on UniOrb.com, March 2005)