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we stop trying to figure out Tobias’s gender or sexual orientation, we can see that he has quite a bit to offer. In philosophy and different branches of feminism, androgyny has been suggested as either an ideal or an alternative to the feminine/masculine gender dichotomy.10 An androgynous individual possesses both feminine and masculine behavioral characteristics and traits. Instead of being wholly defined by one gender, an androgynous person blurs the lines and draws from both sets of traits. The benefit of androgyny is that it removes the polarity that a gender dichotomy presents. That is, instead of being feminine or masculine, an individual is just a person. The focus is moved from identifying a person based on expected behaviors determined by gender, to identifying the person based on traits, abilities, and so on.

In a society with a history of oppressing one gender, gender traits often reflect (and at times reinforce) that oppression. In removing the focus on gender by focusing instead on androgyny, we can also remove some of the damage caused by past and current oppression.

Tobias might in fact be pansexual or omnisexual (much like his server gig in Reno in “The Swallows”). A pansexual or omnisexual is a person whose identity and sexual choices are not limited or determined by gender (the person may engage in sexual acts with all genders). Thus, a person who is pan- or omnisexual will have a sexually diverse personality and lifestyle and will choose sexually diverse activities with partners independent of their biology or gender. What is important about these classifications is that they remind us about sexual and gender diversity. As we encounter greater varieties of people, lifestyles, and traits, it becomes clear that the classic conceptions of gender and sexuality are no longer sufficient. In the contemporary world, we must acknowledge our past mistakes of expecting people to fit into personality types. What a person like Tobias shows us is that we needn’t concern ourselves with fitting into a specific mould; we need not worry about whether we’re too feminine or masculine, nor about whether our sexuality or personality conforms to “normal” standards. Instead, like Tobias, we should find the universe’s plans for ourselves and follow them to the best of our abilities. Surprisingly, the problem with Tobias is that there may not be a problem at all; perhaps the problem is with social expectations about sex and gender. Perhaps we should all try to find the Tobias inside of us.

NOTES

1. Jami L. Anderson, Race, Gender and Sexuality: Philosophical Issues of Identity and Justice (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2002), p. 29.

2. See season 1, episode 2, “Top Banana”; season 1, episode 3, “Bringing Up Buster”; season 2, episode 11, “Out on a Limb”; season 1, episode 11, “Public Relations”; season 2, episode 15, “Sword of Destiny.”

3. In season 3, episode 11, “Faking It,” we see Tobias knitting on the couch. See scrapbooking in season 3, episode 12 “Exit Strategy,” and creating glitter-filled gift baskets in season 3, episode 9, “S.O.B.s.”

4. In season 3, episode 12, “Exit Strategy,” he’s seen wearing an ill-fitting women’s blazer; season 1, episode 18, “Justice Is Blind,” and episode 11, “Out on a Limb,” he dresses in Maggie Lizer’s clothes (and in the latter, also her pregnancy suit); as Falidia Featherbottom in season 2, episodes 14–16, “The Immaculate Election,” “Sword of Destiny,” and “Meat the Veals.”

5. See season 2, episode 11, “Out on a Limb”; season 1, episode 11, “Public Relations”; and season 2, episode 1, “Sword of Destiny.”

6. The jokes about Tobias’s alleged homosexuality are too many to list or summarize entirely.

7. “Out on a Limb” makes a play on this; Tobias accuses Lucille of being in denial, which he later exhibits in response to her criticism of him.

8. See, for example, “Bringing Up Buster” and “Not Without My Daughter.”

9. For an additional discussion of the benefits of recreating gendered pronouns, see, for example, Leslie Feinberg’s Trans