Which means that I'm riveted to the intellectual and political challenge of how, given all our cultural baggage, bulging with centuries worth of expectations for how 'men' and 'women' are supposed to behave

I've not heard many people talk about this - I know it's not something *I'm* looking for in fic. Now I'm wondering if it may have something to do with my own utter disregard for what is termed 'masculine' or 'feminine' in society.

On a tangent, you really should watch Buffy. As a self-proclaimed 'feminist' show (altho, it's version of feminism
can be alternately heavy-handed/downright problematic/just badly written), it plays around with a lot of ideas on womanhood which you should find interesting. Plus, damn good show with loads of interesting female characters. *tempts*

Swatkat