Strip! was a great essay becuase it helped in shedding some light on the complex topic of transgender. I think it is difficult to be either masculine or feminine. I was taught early on im my studies on gender that most people are on a continuum. In that, no one is ever really on the ends of the scale (no one is all masculine or all feminine). We all lie somewhere in between. Some people are more feminine or masculine and some people who are androgenous fall in the middle. Looking at gender as a spectrum rather than a determinant helps clear up some of the grey areas of transgender issues. However, the spectrum has no indications of sexual orientation. A person could be anywhere on the scale and it would not necessarily mean that they were going to be heterosexual or homosexual (or whatever else). I am not sure what to think on the issue of homosexuality as it relates to the nature vs. nurture argument. It seems logical that heterosexuality is the "natural" way because of the way our anatomy is constructed and the purposes of certain body parts and structures, but desire is not limited to body parts. It is just as much in our heads as it is in the rest of our body. I think transgender issues reflects on this complexity because gender and sexualtiy it is not a simplistic scheme that goes from a to b to c. Strip! was a wondrful essay revealing the world of transgender. I also loved the essay about butts. Tracie, Amber and I have had amusing conversations on that topic. And like most of the class has said in these postings I am glad to be back with Body Outlaws and its thought provoking and thoroughly enjoyable essays.