A Note on the Importance of Gender

As I was reading through an article in VenusZine on dating and people's "types" (Issue no. 31, Spring 2007), I found myself flippng to the end to see whether the person who penned the piece was male or female. They authors were discussing girlfriends/boyfriends/both, and I just HAD to know what gender to identify with. This action of mine got me questioning my curiosity. Why did I have to know the gender before venturing too far into the piece? Why was I so fascinated with the fact that a female author was writing about girlfriends/boyfriends/both? I've certainly been friends with my fair share of homosexual/transexual people in the past (and present), and I am certainly not opposed to the idea. But something strange was happening. I was sitting completely alone, peering into other people's lives via their words. I felt like a voyeur. And I liked being able to delve into their lives and read about their crazy past relationships. I especially liked reading the pieces that were not the typical boy-meets-girl (or vice-versa) stories we as a culture are used to reading. This magazine presented me with a wide range of stories that warmed my jaded heart and fed my voyeuristic tendencies. Thanks for letting me be a nosy little voyeur, VenusZine. You guys shoud check it out. Its almost as good as Bust Magazine.