I am what i am, and what i am needs no excuses! Life's not worth a damn till you can shout out I AM WHAT I AM! :)

Admittedly i wont take credit where credit should not be taken but i would like to take some time to discuss the dichotomy in gender. My friend Luke, recently posted something on facebook in relation to this topic and it inspired me to do the same. Have you ever had to fill out a form for maybe a passport, or even a credit card application. Several times in all of our lives we'll be placed in a position where we must check off one of those boxes. What do you check off when you dont feel like those two are not enough? What if neither of those choices fit within the space you've defined as "you"? Is there such thing as an inbetween when it comes to gender?

I've been doing alot of work lately with the GLBTQ community and i guess i wanted to take a moment to share what i've learned to be one of the most facinating topics i've ever had the pleasure of being introduced to me. Can you imagine looking at yourself in the mirror and knowing that God...or science or ...whatever...somehow placed you in the wrong body? Can you imagine looking at breasts and a vagina, or seeing a penis and knowing that through some fluke of faith you ended up with the wrong body parts?

Let's break this down into perspectives. First of all, you are born as one of two things...maybe three. Boy, Girl, Inter sex (aka hermaphrodite.) My blog in itself describes a world in shades of grey recognizing that we live in a world where things are rarely dichotimous, yet how do describe gender? in two boxes "Male" and "Female" yet there are such a vast number of individual who absolutely do not fit into the conforimities of those two choices. There are several people who choose to ID as androgynous, meaning they have no preference one way or the other and choose not to conform to one side of the coin.

But why are we as a society so ultimately obsessed with prescribing to these gender binaries? From childhood girls are given a set of toys to play with. Usually they're pink or purple or any other colour we assume to be considered "feminine". When a child is born the very first thing they announce is the sex of the child. But have you ever encountered someone who doesn't feel as though they fit within the body given to them? How do you act then? What do you say?

For me the answer seems fairly obvious. You accept that person as they are. You can definitely find alot of pride associated wit the Trans community. One of the people i respect the most is a Trans womyn, and she's absolutely beautiful. She's a huge activist in the community and has alot to say. She's so full of light and education and I have learned so much from her. But it hurts that every time i introduce her to someone new, as soon as we turn around they ask me...."Was that a man?". Who the hell cares? She was born a male, but to me she has always been a womyn. No more no less than someone born that way.

I think one of the ways i live my life every day is to be more accepting of people. I think that's part of what makes me who i am. I have this great ability to love and find the beauty in everyone. Even if they cant find it in themselves. I guess the one thing i'm trying to get at in this post. I t doesn't matter what you look like, it doesn't matter what norms society has taught you. Live your life exactly as you please and the inner happiness you find within yourself will be contagious to those around you.

close your eyes make a wish...

So i've started about 5 or 6 blog postings and have never bothered posting them. I'm never satisfied with y quality of writing. But i figure there's no point in having a blog if i'm not going to use it. Just to give a brief update of my life currently. I am involved in several on campus activities and loving every minute of it. So my expectations of what this blog may develop into are talks about what is currently on my mind. For example, i've been involved with the Coalition for a Carleton Sexual Assault Centre this past year and have struggled and rejoiced as we have fought for a centre. I advocate every day to end gender-based violence and i think i would like to make this blog something that surrounds those activities. I'm also very involved in the GLBTQ community and watch friends of mine enjoy every minute of being gay. I myself dont identify as GLBT maybe Q Queer is a nice encompassing word and as someone who doesnt quite feel like i'm "straight" i think the Q would fit nicely within the spectrum of my identity.

I feel like my life is changing. While certain parts of my myself have remained stagnant while there are other parts just itching to come forward, so i'm itching to share that with the world. So stay tuned and hopefully you can watch as i develop the blog, and myself along with it.