I am a renegade. I always have been. I've never been satisfied following the herd and accepting what mainstream culture has to offer as a be-all and end-all to the human experience. Life is too precious and time too short not to march to the beat of the drummer within my own heart. Living life is risk. Without risk, you can't experience change and the potentialtiy of rich rewards. Without change and the vastness of a wide range of experiences and interactions, it can be extremely difficult to achieve any sort of enlightenment whatsoever. I have lived more lives in my thirty-plus years on this earth than many will ever even dream. I am thankful for all of it, the good and the bad, because it has caused me to grow and to appreciate the uniqueness of each individual that I've encountered and it's given me a heartfelt appreciation for the beauty within all of the people in all of the cultures around the world.
::: my voice :::
What we know as gender today is a classification by society. Our society, being a capitalistic culture and a great one at that, is filled with more opportunity than many. That said, our system by its very nature needs to have everything classified. Classification puts things in order, and once classified, society can then program your desires neatly, thus, constantly producing a more efficient machine. It does this based upon its ability to identify, produce, market and deliver to a particular target. Our economy is fuled by the engines of desire. Without them, our system could not function. Desire needs to be designed, manufactured and customized just like anything else. Desire itself is a product. You can either choose it yourself, our have someone feed it to you. Got television? Don't settle for someone else's programming, mold or template for your life.
Voxarosa!
::: programming :::
There are more than six billion of us on the planet right now. We are similar in some ways, and different in others, yet we are all unique individuals. Why squelch sharing your individuality - those special things unique to you that make up who you are? Why let fear, most often an illusion, hold you back from experiencing all that life has to offer? The reason for the pressure that exists not to be yourself is that when changes are seen developing - changes in classification - ambiguity or refusal to be classified - society immediately rejects anything outside the established order. Not by virtue, righteousness or a keen sense of what is right and true, but rather, society operates within the confines of the fears which dictate the class system itself. Unfortunately, whatever the current construct is as it applies to class, it is never greater than one generation's ability to escape the construct of the preceding generation(s). The result is fear, misunderstanding and assumptions, which result in all of our stereotypes. As someone who was a punk rocker in New York City in the early eighties, looking back at punk's proliferation and current acceptance by society, I would venture to say that this is a prime example of the classification beast. Punk was initially met with resistance, disgust and fear, and after many years of struggle, has now become an established part of the music business. That in itself is a double-edge sword, as now corporate thinking has established a firm foothold within the genre, which is never good for art, but I think you can probably see my point.
The good thing is that changes within the classification system do occur, however, they most often occur only after long periods of time, often mired in misunderstanding, frustration, struggle and violence. From racial equality to fashion, the same principles are always at work, holding back that which in some way is deemed to threaten the current social order. Let's go back to the previous example for a second. Since I have a music industry background, this is an easy analogy for me. Take art that is mass produced - popular music - for example. People complain that music on the radio all sounds the same within particular genres. They're right. It does, and there is an explanation for why that is so. For the most part, the system only pushes through to success that which can be easily classified, using the comparative of whatever the status quo happens to be. They will say, "Oh, okay, that sounds like this, so it is okay." Creativity suffers and ultimately so does society, as new and exciting voices of expression are not given the opportunity to be shared on a grand scale. Unfortunately, the same thing happens in our own lives. Instead of the "That sounds like this..." it's "Oh, you are like me, so you are okay." Being governed by the fear of not being "okay" can prevent us from expressing our true selves and our own uniqueness.
::: over six billion served :::
::: ch-ch-ch-changes :::
Anything falling outside of the current, easily classified parameters is seen as a threat to society at large. The reaction to change is then viewed with a herd - or mob - mentality, which is panic without understanding and can be extremely dangerous ground for anyone on the upward curve of independent thought and expression. Some of the greatest minds in history refused the status quo, and in doing so revolutionized the way we live today.. The known classes are comfortable and familiar. As humans, we take solace in that which is familiar, yet nature teaches us that the only thing that is constant is change itself. We often resist, and at the same time echo empty sayings like, "Change is good." The pundits say, "If things change too rapidly, there will be chaos." Despite the so-called wisdom of the seemingly wise, science has now revealed that the universe and the world in which we live, right down to the molecular level, exist in chaos. The real irony in the midst of this classification debacle is that people in a particular group who may not fall into the current accepted structure are almost always seeking one simple thing, and that is this: to follow the desires of their hearts. Acceptance. Independent thought. Individual expression. That is what truly reveals the beauty inside of us as human beings and thus reflects the beauty of nature.

Independent thinkers wish to be recognized for the unique individuals that they are, rather than to be smothered by the labels thrust upon them through ignorance. These are the only people who are really and truly free. Some may say that you can never truly defy classification, because in doing so you just throw yourself into another class. True, but by making the effort to break free and change, you are exercising your free will, and that is where the magic is. We wonder why children rebel against their parents. We echo sayings like, "Be yourself" and "Follow your heart." Yet when someone attempts to grasp something original and forward-thinking, we often quickly recoil and attempt to tone their ideas down, because we feel safer within the familiar. Kate Bornstein said it best in Gender Outlaw which I'll quote roughly here: "When you meet someone, wouldn't it be nice, instead of asking, 'What do you do?' to ask, 'Who are you?'" The fact that we always ask the former, rather than the latter, is indicative of the trap of the classification system in which we currently live. Do you know what your true desires are, or do you only desire that which you are told you should want? Think for yourself. Be true to yourself. Know yourself. If you can't be true to yourself, how can you really expect to be true to others? The truth will really set you free.
::: the who and the action :::