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Not everyone who experiences such misunderstandings is “standing up and challenging” in such a manner, and trying to define what exactly it means to be willfully challenging gender norms is yet another area where such definitions are not possible, imho.
You have seen the examples that myself and others have shared (in this thread and the original), yes? Working on a ranch, etc…
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Here again the continuum exists, in that the ‘norm’ is specifically subjective but generally OBjective. It seems to me that by not falling within the parameters what society defines as “normal”, that you are, by default, standing up and challenging. It may not be defiantly, but it is still a challenge to the norm.
I have seen the examples and believe me, I’m on your side here, but no matter how you slice it, if you take a hundred random people and show them pictures of
the entire spectrum of female-ness, from Marylyn Monroe to, say, Rosie O’Donnell the majority would likely cite Marylyn as the example of femininity.