Gender?

I've been pondering a lot lately about gender. What defines a persons sexuality? Their clothing? Their personal care products? Their smell? Their sex organs?
It's always been my common belief that the only thing that separates men and women is genes. I've heard some claim that men are stronger than women and that may be the case sometimes and maybe some of the strongest people in the world have been men BUT many women are much stronger than many men.
It just seems like everything in and around gender is superficial. I have never really connected with these things. I don't understand most of it. It reminds me of how senseless it is when people put clothing on their pets for "show". I mean, I've had friends who put jackets, sweaters etc on their dogs during the winter, when it's subzero weather and that is practical to me BUT I'm more talking about the poeple who buy booties and bibs for their dogs... That kind of crap reminds me of many "gender decisive" things in this society. Like make-up.... What does make-up do for anyone, other than create a superficial image of what society thinks someone should look like? Doesn't it create a false sense of security?
And I will NEVER understand the sense in wearing skirts, or shorts so short that if you move a certain way, someone might get a sneak peak... I've never understood why women want to have half of their chests exposed, it seems like that would be uncomfortable to me. Why don't men have half of their chests exposed? I mean, I'd rather see that but that's just my opinion ; )
I get tired of being around people who are obsessed with how they look and/or have to constantly flaunt how they look. I just don't get it. I've never expected nor wanted to look "perfect" - whatever perfect may be. I find that behavior actually very annoying. I know I've only mentioned women but men are just as guilty with trying to have this image of perfection.
Don't get me wrong - I don't think I'm ugly, I don't think I'm the hottest girl around but I DO know that I don't care about looking perfect or covering up the zit that most people probably don't care about. It's so tiresome to me - to be around people who just seem so damned petty. Worse than that is always being forced to live with and around these people. I don't think people who are obsessed with their appearences are bad people, they just annoy the piss out of me and quite frankly - they are completely boring and lack any independent personality traits of their own - at least as far as I can tell.
I've sort of had to distance myself from the world. Not because I'm depressed, not because I think everything in the world sucks but for my own self-cultivation, I have to be alone and away from these people that always seem to get into my head with their ideas of make-up and provocative clothing.
I don't get the clothing thing. My clothes are like the sheath to my sword. Sure, I can put a sheath on my sword that doesn't fit and is completely dolled up and expensive looking OR I could get the plain sheath, that fits perfectly and has durability and integrity in keeping my sword looking good. It just seems like everyone else picks the non-fitting sheath, everyone seems to pick the things that may make the sword appear beautiful at the moment but will ensure it's ruin much sooner. And for the metaphorically challenged - all this make-up, cologne, perfume, push-up bras, highHELLS, hair dyes, tanning, etc etc - all of these things lead to all kinds of cancers, back problems etc. The people who spend the most amount of money on such things (you know - not only these products but also on other things) usually spend the least amount of time worrying about their health or slowing down the aging process. Instead, they choose the immediate reward of having a fake perfect complexion and appearing taller than they are over accepting their imperfections and working towards looking great at 40 and living free of back problems and doctor appointments.
These are definitely my true views on the subject. I've been accused of actually hating people who are obsessed with how they look but that isn't the case. I just need to stay away from those people because they make me question my way of life too much and not for the better, for the worse. I don't want to be one of those skinny girls that thinks I'm fat, I don't want to be one of those girls that is OMG A ZIT! I don't want to be one of those girls that thinks my make-up and clothing holds more integrity than my brain. Everytime I have become weak and fallen into that frame of thinking it was because of the choices in people I was around. I only did those things because I could feel the pressure or they knocked me down a few pegs so I would cave in. I don't want that and to avoid that, I have to avoid those kinds of people - including the guys. The guys like this are usually the ones enabling women into objectifying themselves. One of the most superficial guys I know, who spends the most money on things to impress people with - is the one guy who told me that I would look prettier with make-up.... I wish I told him then that he'd look better with a mask on too... but I guess we all think of the best retorts a little late.