Living with a Vagina

Whether we are female or male, we are influenced by our physical structure and in our world the feminine sex has a particular and extensive role in our daily lives and future development. Because women are capable of giving birth and men are not, they have been valued, used and abused over millennia, in as many and diverse ways as there are communities on Earth. In this brief look at the influences of the female sex and their physical attributes, I question how our society in Australia perceives women and how, in fact, they perceives themselves. Many traditions are based on inequality of the sexes and this has created inherent misrepresentation and assumptions that are now not serving our communities, nor society at large. Add to this review of sexes and their roles, the complexity of gender differentiation and how that is played out today poses questions that might be addressed earlier in our persona; and societal development than they currently are. For many, ‘What is LGBTI and what do these letters stand for?’ is still a mystery or unclear Can a person be more than one gender and if so, how are they represented in society? I attempt to explain, or at least explore, some of these and more questions. Given the current and overdue public focus on violence against women and the uncertainty around gender identity, perhaps this small work can contribute to the move to reassess our philosophy, understanding and the deep need both sexes have for new reference points. Perhaps we can realise the value of all individuals and engender a diminishing or complete wiping away of any gender bias, whatsoever. Living With A Vagina is partly autobiographical and aims at being an accessible means of reviewing what our government, corporations, religions, families and media have to say about gender over our short non indigenous history in Australia. It is only lightly researched, with the material coming mainly from contemporary referencing of trends, media and advertising. I looked at a range of literature presenting archetypal, boundary testing or academic perspectives, all of which impact or question what reality is for each of us.