We each use many objects in order to manipulate our bodies and express our gender identity. Gender can be thought of in terms of ‘boy’ and ‘girl’, but also in terms of ‘boyishness’ and ‘girlishness’. Sometimes we call this ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’. What makes something masculine and feminine is always changing as culture and society attribute different meanings onto objects. For instance we may think that nail varnish is a ‘girlish’ thing but we know lots of boys and men who wear nail varnish and not all of them are goths! Also they may or may not agree that wearing nail varnish is even a ‘girlish’ thing nowadays.
Who Am I? 