A Hip-Hop Gender Identity

Hip-Hop has had a huge impact on my gender identity. I remember listening to "Damn It Feels Good to Be a Gangsta," and aspiring to get my hustle on. I used to wear Akademiks and still dress in a highly hip-hop influenced style.
Many aspects of culture, personal experience, reading, upbringing, friends, and other factors have contributed to my gender identity. Hip-Hop is a large part of that. I think children are highly susceptible to stimuli, and therefore mirror hip-hop language, clothing, gender roles, themes, etc. Kids who identify with certain places, races, socio-economic backgrounds, lyrics, accents, or whatever else they pick up from hip-hop videos and songs will be especially prone to internalizing their messages.
I try to challenge gender stereotypes by attempting to treat men and women equally. I expect the same effort and intellect from any gender. I admire strength in women and emotion in men. I also strive to do and say the unexpected in an effort to escape social molds and patterns in favor of new values.