Exploration

At last, Jon finally decided that he would tell Sarah: No deal. Although he wanted to learn what it meant to be a woman, he didn't think that becoming a cheerleader was the best way to do it. Karyn was right. There were other ways to find his place in the world as a girl than standing in front of a massive crowd waving pom poms like a brain-dead idiot. That was really only the most superficial aspect of womanhood. Some women were cheerleaders; it was very feminine, just like some men were football players and it was very masculine. But that was just what some women *did*. It wasn't what they *were*. He decided that, if he really wanted to understand what it meant to be a girl, he would have to begin with something more fundamental: something that was irreducibly part of the female experience. And if he could learn that...then he could build upon it until he had found himself...or rather *herself*...in the world of women. So what was it that *defined* being a woman? Instantly he had it. The answer was so obvious. *Childbirth.* In fact, he was completely staggered when it suddenly occurred to him that he actually *could* give birth now. But how could he better understand this? It's implications were only now dawning in him. He promptly ran back to his room and picked up the stone from its hiding place. "I wish..."