Is androgyny just a fad?
By Ali the Sexpert
February 4, 2009
 Over the past couple of years there has been a rise in representation of androgynous looking people in the media and pop culture.
Move over Prince – there are newer celebrities and musicians on the market to popularize androgyny. What was once considered odd or bizarre now seems to be accepted, but is androgyny just a fad?
Definition of androgyny
The term androgynous is an adjective that describes someone who has both female and male characteristics, or someone who is not distinguishably masculine or feminine.
However, androgyny can also be many other things as well. It can be a mental and/or emotional state. Think about the number of little boys who cry, and all the little girls who are tomboys growing up. These are common forms of physical androgyny. But androgyny is also the study of gender. The term was first developed by Sandra Bem in 1974, and translates as “andro,” meaning “man,” and “gyn” meaning “woman.”
This is also an identity label that is used by people who feel both masculine or feminine, or who are more fluid in their gender or appearance.
But according to Bem, femininity and masculinity are not polar opposites as they are often described in Western society. Bem describes masculinity and femininity as being the degree to which a person is masculine or feminine.
According to Bem, if you are high in typically feminine traits, then you do not automatically have a low number of masculine traits. Androgynous people tend to have a high number of both masculine and feminine traits.
Androgynous people can be described by words that are seemingly opposite such as: aggressive and passive, forceful and gentle, sensitive and assertive – depending on what the particular situation requires.
Androgynous people tend to be very flexible, and they adapt to situations more easily than people who are more static in their gender and personality labels.
Androgyny in history and pop culture
Androgyny never really went out of style over the years; it just submerged in different ways over time. It moved from being a fictional physical trait (such as elves in The Lord of the Rings or as Gabriel the angel on Constantine), to a very valued personality and fashion sense over time. Back in the 1950s some people would consider Elvis to be androgynous with his pouty lips, pretty boy style and gyrating hips.
In the 1960s, androgyny was popular in Japan with ambiguous characters in video games and in their music culture that continues today. In the Western culture, androgyny weaved in and out of pop culture making a distinct comeback in the 1980s in the music genres of glam rock, new wave, and goth rock music.
Bands such as the New York Dolls, Michael Jackson, Annie Lennox of the Eurythmics, and Boy George of Culture Club popularized this appearance as a fashion sense that never went away.
Another founder of the androgynous look was David Bowie who continues to be one of the cutting edge media examples of androgynous fashion today.
These fashion icons normalized androgyny and paved the way for more modern images. In the 1990s musicians continued to play with androgynous fashion. Those headlining this look were Marilyn Manson, and Brian Molko from Placebo.
In the early 2000s androgyny was everywhere in the music industry as well as the fashion industry. Androgyny has always been, and remains, to be a cultural fascination, even though it is still considered a gender “risk” today. The gender binaries are starting to widen though, even if it has been a slow process over the years.
Androgynous reputations
Today, the media continues to explore androgyny, and has accepted it as more “normal” than ever before. Androgyny is now considered to be sexy and appealing instead of rebellious and odd.
According to Sanda Bem, androgynous people are described as being bright, creative and very adaptable to different situations. It is this flexibility that is a defining characteristic of androgyny. Androgynous individuals behave in ways appropriate to a given situation, regardless of whether the behavior is deemed appropriately masculine or feminine.
For example, studies have found that androgynous women are more assertive and independent than feminine women when confronted with stressful situations. This may seem odd because our culture places an expectation on us that makes us choose a gender, but there are some cultures where this is not an expectation. For example, the “Berdache” are indigenous Native Americans who are regarded as spiritual healers in their native culture.
They are known for possessing both masculine and feminine characteristics and live as gifted individuals who are in touch with the spirit world. They believe this androgynous energy is what makes them able to exist in physical form, while they are also able to “journey” into the other spirit realms as well. Since they are considered to be gifted, they are often seen as spiritual guides or mediums between the physical and the spiritual world.
In Chinese culture, there is a balance of both male (yang) and female (yin) energy in everyone and everything. Some people believe that androgyny is a balance of both, but others describe androgyny as the absence of a gender all together.
There are several debatable theories surrounding androgyny because it has become more than a gender identity. It has become personal politics for some, and those who believe in androgynous politics believe that defining gender is a discriminatory act. Gender binaries have historical significance, but are not always the defining characteristic today as it was in the past.
Embracing androgyny
According to the history of androgyny and its popularity, it does not seem to be a fad. Over the past five years, masculinized images of women like Madonna and Avril Lavigne, to more feminine images of men demonstrate how androgyny seems to be making another come back in the 21st century. One modern androgynous character that is celebrated today is Katherine Moenning, aka “Shane” from the L word, who is renowned for her mysterious and sexy androgynous demeanor.
Today, androgyny demands to have a legitimate place in society as the fluid and “in between” existence where masculine and feminine do not dictate social location or even the clothing a person wears.
Ali the Sexpert aka Allisa Scott is a researcher and teacher in the field of sexuality. She has two degrees from U Windsor (Honours BA in Sociology); MA in Social Work (WLU); MA degree is Sociology with a published thesis about sexuality. She also holds a minor in studies in sexuality from Windsor.
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