I read A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink recently and continue to mull over his reference to Mihalyi Csikszantmihalyi’s studies on boundary crossing, particularly in relation to gender. Here’s some food for thought:

In Csikszantmihalyi’s research, he found that “when tests of masculinity/femininity are given to young people, over and over one finds that creative and talented girls are more dominant and tough than other girls, and creative boys are more sensitive and less aggressive than their male peers.....A psychologically androgynous person in effect doubles his or her repertoire of responses and can interact with the world in terms of a much richer and varied spectrum of opportunities.”

This is a pretty loaded topic for me. I remember debating (as I often did) as a preteen with a male leader in my deeply conservative religious background about the leadership abilities of women....One of his statements, ever more incredulous as time goes by: “perhaps there are a few women capable of the kind of leadership necessary for a Supreme Court appointment, but those women would never be attractive to most men.” I don’t remember the other details of the “conversation” but I know it didn’t get any better. I left feeling utterly defeated because somewhere in the dialogue, my eyes welled up with tears, and I assumed he took that as proving his point: myself, an example of a female clouding logic with emotion.

Fast forward 20 years. I’ve found myself gravitating toward so many boundary crossing individuals, particularly in art school. I’m surrounded by a community of friends who value my varied contributions. I’m married to a man who deeply admires both my sensitivity and my logic. I should feel utterly free to exercise this wide repertoire of responses, depending on what’s most needed in any given situation. And while I’m more free than I’ve ever been, there is certainly still more growth yet for me in this place.

Compelling design (and while we’re at it, a compelling life) takes the ability to listen, empathize, generously contribute...it also requires courage, assertiveness, and confidence.....wrap all these together into one person, and you’ve got a pretty damn attractive human being, male or female.

And while we’re talking about attractive people, you know you like that suit on David Bowie....