As a student at the University Of Vermont in 1975 I wrote a term paper for a human sexuality and sociology class entitled “The Androgynous Male” . This paper described stereotypical male female gender roles and introduced the idea that men who became more in touch with their inner woman and adopted a more feminine personality would make for a kinder gentler world. It was an easy A , I was early enough in the gender/sexual orientation diversity evolution that people were more intrigued with what I wrote than the typical negative reactions to discussion of gender variations we often see today.

As I have written before I have always had a strong female inner identity while still appreciating what it means to have a male body. At the time , in 1975, I would have described myself as the androgynous male that I wrote about, today bigender is my preferred term for my gender identity. Others with the evolution on more recent gender labels might use gender fluid or genderqueer to describe what I wrote about. This idea of a third gender or blend of the best of what it means to be male or female I thought was a universal attribute that could be learned and adopted by anyone who chose. This was how I understood my gender, I thought everyone could simply choose to be androgynous making for a better world. As a side note I also identified as bisexual and felt that the everyone could be bi if they wanted to too and that it was only our societies negative attitudes about same sex activity that made identifying as bisexual unusual. Obviously my rose colored glasses gave me a skewed version if not interesting perspective on the nature of gender and sexual attraction. As the decades have gone by and our world has become more educated on what it means to have variations in sexual orientation and variations in gender identity I have learned that gender presents itself in many different ways. A lot more people now know that gender just like our sexual orientation falls on a spectrum and while for many it may be fluid it is a deeper part of our core being and while it is not the choice I once thought it was being kinder and gentler to everyone is a choice and one that more people are making everyday.

The University of Vermont recently announced a new policy on gender identity allowing students and presumably other members of the community the ability to identify as whatever gender they choose. This is a tremendous step towards the kinder gentler world I envisioned in 1975 and I am so proud of this progress. From a simple idea in a term paper of a wish for a kinder gentler world to a nationwide trend of gender acceptance , what a difference 40 years makes.