[SIZE="2"]I was listening to some music the other night (as is my wont), one thing led to another, and soon I was reading the “Manifesto of Pandrogeny” put forth by Genesis P-Orridge. I have very unusual musical tastes, to say the least! I did a little research into pandrogeny (or pandrogyny), and I am here to report on this largely neglected (or underappreciated) corner of the transgendered world...

First, let’s consider androgyny. Androgyny is the state of possessing certain characteristics of both genders in one's physical appearance. An androgyne is an individual who feels they do not properly fit into the gender roles ascribed by society to males and females. Often they feel as though their gender is beyond the understanding of these limiting societal factors and they seek to free themselves from that which limits them by dressing in androgynous clothing and attempting to appear on the outside as they feel on the inside. I certainly dress to express how I feel on the inside, but, since I eschew male elements in my style of dress, I cannot properly be termed an androgyne – in other words, I’m on one side or another, and not a visual fusion...

Pandrogyny is the conscious embracing of gender roles, sexual orientations, or cultural traditions so as to render the person's original identity completely indecipherable. It is the “third gender” that is sometimes referred to on this site, a type of gender-neutral living being more akin to the OTHER, or internal self. I often write about incorporating the genders via crossdressing in an attempt to express something internal, but a pandrogyne is way more serious and upfront about it, i.e. making one’s life (a brief existence) into an art form. I saw the aforementioned P-Orridge on stage, affecting a gender-neutral presentation, and I wondered what was going on – is this transvestism, transgendered behavior, or transsexuality? None of the above, as it turns out...

Genesis P-Orridge had a “partner,” the late Lady Jaye P-Orridge, and they were so crazy about each other that they literally created a collage, or a third being, from their identities, undergoing “irreversible surgeries” to look like each other as much as possible. The result, a pandrogyne, is referred to as Breyer P-Orridge collectively. I’ll let the artiste (s) explain: “When you consider transexuality, cross-dressing, cosmetic surgery, piercing and tattooing, they are all calculated impulses—a symptomatic groping toward the next phase. One of the great things about human beings is that they impulsively and intuitively express what is inevitably next in the evolution of culture and our species. It is the Other that we are destined to become.” We are literally “groping in the sunlight,” as Quintilian once said, but I digress...

Pandrogeny is not about defining differences but about creating similarities, not about separation but about unification and resolution. I am quite intrigued by this idea of “unification” as it relates to gender incorporation. Being alone in my crossdressing quest, I have no tangible “other” to be at one with – it’s all internal, and thus difficult to explain as a solitary artistic undertaking. Being an artist, I know that creative people do all sorts of things under the heading of “expression,” and becoming a pandrogyne is a pretty serious undertaking, replete with the kind of verification via wordiness that will deflect most casual curiosity seekers. Same as it ever was, but making one’s whole life into a work of art is a really interesting thing to do – I admire individuals like this, even though a pandrogyne cannot truly be called an "individual" per se...

Obviously, this is a difficult concept to grasp – I must say I can barely get a handle on it. A less visible pandrogyne (other than P-Orridge) would “present” a gender-neutral appearance and not make any artistic fuss about it, nor would they care if they could be “deciphered” by anyone. It’s all about living according to one’s own precepts, within the binary systems embedded in society, and surviving intact, true to one SELF. I am neither androgynous or pandrogynous, since I seek to “cross” over to the other side for a short time and express my happiness to be there. At other times I am very much my birth gender, albeit reduced (altered) by repeated excursions to the “other” side, so there will be no manifesto of intent forthcoming. To me, crossdressing is a true PANacea...

OK – what do you think of this “concept” of pandrogeny? I find it odd (but telling) that it can be spelled two different ways, since pan- means “all,” andro- means “male,” –geny means “origin,” and -gyne means female, but let’s not split hairs (again!). BTW, don’t even think of saying “pansexual,” since that refers to someone who experiences sexual attraction towards members of ALL genders, including transgender, transsexual, cross dressing, androgyne, androgen, two-spirited, gender-fliud, and all other variety of gender identifications, as well as those who do not feel that they have a gender. It gets confusing (what else is new?), but, since life is a limitless panorama, I am equipped to deal with (and appreciate) all variations...

Thanks for reading – I’m all PANNED out... [/SIZE]