If I Were a Man: What it Means to Have a Gender in Modern Society

If my gender was suddenly changed and I was a man, who would I be? What would my life be like? It's an interesting question. What exactly is masculinity or femininity, and how would those characteristics show up in my life? I think these questions would be easier to answer if I start with who I am now, as a woman.

I have never felt a strong pull towards my own gender. I was never a girly-girl, interested in high heels and makeup and frilly dresses. My mother says that even when I was a toddler I would cry unless I got to wear my favorite clothes-jeans and a sweatshirt. I was a tomboy, and my friends in school were as likely to be boys as girls. If I had been a boy, my name would probably be Joe (my mother says it was her first choice as a boy's name), a name that sounds very much like the name I have as a girl-Jill.