Lili's thought for the day

One of the worst things about living in a gender-segregated society which embraces gender stereotypes like Australia is what happens to all the people who don't fit neatly or happily into one or other gender category. What if I'm a woman who is fed up with low-paid stereotypically female jobs confronted with a job service provider who unreflectively thinks in terms of gender stereotypes? What if I'm a man who wishes to work in early childhood teaching, for all the right reasons? What if I'm an "at risk" teen, and the only youth intervention program offered by the chaplain at my high school is a festival of gender stereotyping, and I don't want to be a part of that, for whatever reason? What if I'm a woman with an interest and ability in mathematics or engineering, and I've got to battle a consciously and unconsciously sexist society which doubts my ability at every step in my career? What if I'm a homeless transgendered person confronted with an emergency housing system that is church-administered and gender-segregated, and I find myself not welcome in women's hostels and not safe in men's hostels? It's crap for those who can't or don't want to fit into the gender pidgeon-holes, but why should anyone at all be compelled to conform to a bunch of idiotic ideas?