Gender mind bender

Lately I've been thinking about gender, and how much our expressions of it are influenced by society. I am such a stereotypical female in so many ways, and I wonder if that is solely because over the years I have absorbed these stereotypes (the babysitters club, sweet valley high, archie and veronica, neighbours, degrassi junior high, 90210, etc etc) or if such stereotypes also partly exist because they really do represent common female/male characteristics. That's not to say that gender is fixed and pre-determined, because it definitely is not, but those stereotypes had to come from somewhere.

Like the nurturing/mothering instinct in women for example. Is this something I learned from my own mother/society? perhaps, but I also know plenty of women who have highly nurturing mothers, yet don't have a particularly strong nurturing quality in themselves. Or perhaps they do but don't feel compelled to express it the same way that I do, e.g. wanting to take care of others, have kids etc. I mean I really have to fight the urge to ikea-hack my way to building the perfect family nest, or frame a whole bunch of family photos to hang on the wall.
Also I'm very sentimental and cry at anything emotional (like Serena winning the Australian open.) I like shopping, I like dressing up, I like cooking, I like romantic comedies. BUT I don't like perfume, or high heels, or white-weddings, or handbags.

So have I been conditioned? Well I certainly don't have any ideas of how I think women or men should be. I think there are masculine and feminine parts (whatever that is) in us all, and we can all choose to express (but should not repress) whichever parts we like. So then I guess I'm not conforming to any self-imposed pre-conceived notions of gender, I'm just being myself. And if part of that means being 'typically' female, then so be it.