One comment I read elsewhere goes something like: The society we live in is patriarchal. As such, it values masculinity over femininity. So a female that exhibits characteristics we see as masculine is an upgrade. While a male who exhibits feminine traits is demeaning himself.
I have a daughter who is quite masculine. She once had an interest in becoming a kick boxer. (Her reason for not continuing is that there were no other women in her weight class). She had a bout one night in which her fight was about midway through a fairly long card. These cards arrange their fights to maximize interest, with the "best" ones coming last. The quality of my daughter's fight was not that technically good, but it was mid card because audiences apparently want to see women fight.
When I want to wear a dress, I get a lot of resistance at home, even from my daughter, who I would think understands gender non-conformance. But no. Why? Because even the women have been conditioned by the patriarchal mindset. Without knowing how or why, most of us have accepted uncritically that masculine is the preferred gender. As someone who values rational reasoning, I hate that.
