"Ridicule is nothing to be scared of": True Identity can't truly be gazed at, can it?

What is perceived is never exactly the same as what is there in the material sense, but we are still obsessed by gazing, making assumptions about what we see and how people choose to present themselves. It is true that visualising class, race, gender and sexual distinction is difficult without using pre-established stereotypes. However, in this new century, following from a wave of androgynous fashion and evident gender ambiguity or change (especially in the Western hemisphere), is it not fair to suggest that the gaze has become more of a curious one? Everyday whilst passing people in the street, we mentally note, if but ephemerally, who they are under their physical appearance or even if this appearance is, in reality their identity at all. After all what is identity and how to we come to acquire individuality?