When it comes to gender, there is no denying that it has some influence over our lives. From the moment we’re born, we are dressed by our parents in either pink or blue, and every step forward from that point on follows the societal gender binary code; you’re a boy or you’re a girl, and there are two different sets of expectations for both. But does gender have influence over our very lifestyles? I would have to say no, it doesn’t. If it does, it’s only because we choose to limit ourselves by it.

It’s very easy to get caught up in the differences between the genders, as that there are multitudes of them. After all, the bra was not invented with men in mind, nor were jock straps created for the use of women. These things were designed with a definite gender difference in mind, to better suit the needs of the two opposite physical forms. But to allow something as base as clothing options to dictate your choice of lifestyle strikes me as ridiculous and overly simplistic. Society may unquestioningly allow me to wear a skirt, but that same skirt does not dictate what I can and cannot do.

This is not to gloss over the very real differences between men and women in regards to stature and function, nor is to deny the differences in experiences faced by the two. There are physical and mental differences between the sexes, and they are not to be ignored. However, the fact that I came with two X chromosomes does not dictate the choices I have made in regard as to how I live my life. What’s more, I believe it never should.

For example, when it came to following my dream of writing for a living, my gender was not a mitigating factor in making that choice, nor did gender effect my decision to make traveling regularly an important aspect of my life. Gender has nothing to do with the fact that I feel deep satisfaction from restoring my 1962 Ross bicycle to its former glory, nor does dictate my ongoing attempts to master photography. In fact, the only times I can recall that gender has ever exerted any kind of influence on my life has been when those who have chosen to live their lives a bit more closely to the traditional gender roles have deliberately tried to steer me in that direction. In my experience, it’s much more of an external influence than an internal one.

The way I see it, one of the loftiest and most deeply treasured of humankind’s goals is to utilize your potential - whatever that potential may be - to the fullest. Nowhere in that sentiment is there the caveat of “as long as it pertains to your gender”; it’s a wide-open field, allowing each of us the freedom to pursue our interests, goals and dreams. To limit our pursuit of such things based on the matter of gender is to cheat ourselves out of becoming our best version of ourselves, and that’s a path that has never lead to personal happiness or fulfillment.

Gender may instruct various basic facets of our lives, but gender only influences how we choose to live our lives if we allow it to. Anatomy is not destiny; we are more than the sum of our parts, and to limit ourselves based on gender is to deny our true potential.