One day not so long ago, I was sitting in one of my many tutorials. We were talking about social norms.

This blonde girl, who I've never been fond of, begins talking about how it's wrong for men to wear skirts, including those of Pacific Island descent. I had to bite my tongue to keep from asking her if she was a cross dresser because I notice she is wearing trousers - something women over the age of twelve only starting wearing in the sixties and seventies. This girl evidently doesn't know when to shut up as she goes on to say that girls who don't shave their legs are all 'lesbos'. Wow, isn't that interesting? I shave my legs – does that mean I'm straight? I thought it might be time to look at some social norms, from a gay/lesbian/bi/transgender (GLBT) perspective.

Social Norm One: 'I kissed a girl and I liked it – The Katy Perry Effect.

Going clubbing is a normal activity for many students, correct? One Saturday night, I’m in a certain student bar and it's just a normal night until a certain song begins to play and all these girls start hooking up around me. After a quick check of where I am, I begin attempting to chat up one of these girls, only to get looked at as if I'm psychotic. The morning after, having recovered from the ensuing hangover from too many shots, I find out that it normal practice for girls to hook up for boys – Boys, apparently, think this is hot. So, I ask my very informative friend the logical question – “why don't the boys do it?” Because it's gross, says the friend pulling a look of disgust at my words. Once more, I find myself wondering why it’s not considered a social norm for boys to hook up? Why is it when girls hook up, they’re just 'curious?’ Yet for men, it’s obviously because they're raging homosexuals rubbing it in everyone else's faces.

Social Norm Two: Who wears the pants?

The other day I wore a long fifties style skirt to my lectures. Wow, didn't I get some weird looks. (No, I'm not a boy. I can assure you that I do, in fact have a uterus.) The odd looks I received were because this skirt makes me look like a Stepford wife. Which brings me to my next point – why can't men wear skirts? Even Pacific Islanders get funny looks from many of the so-called straight population because they prefer to wear a traditional sulu rather than European-style pants. Why can't my flatmates (all men) get up and decide that today they want to borrow my little black dress for a party they have that night? Because our society is full of me, Tarzan, you, Jane types. They want their men to be men and their women to be women.

As a child in New Zealand today it is still a social norm to assume your soul mate is going to be of the opposite sex, and that he (or she) won't dress up in women's clothing (Okay, so the same can't be said for girls) For example my dear old Grandpa has a great time dressing in my Gran's clothes – and for this reason and for this reason alone he has been ostracised by nearly all of my family. Why do girls get to have all the fun of skirts? Shouldn't guys be able to wear skirt if they want too, and not feel victimized? As a wizard once said “I'm not putting on [pants.] I like a healthy breeze around my privates, thanks.”

To wind up, I would like to ask you all to look at the social norms in your own life, and turn around and try to look at it from a GBLT perspective. I think you’ll find you see things a bit differently.