You know, I had the good intention to read through this thread but frankly for me being free means I don't even care that much about this. I mean I do care, but it goes back to getting bent out of shape, overanalyzing and I don't even have the patience to look at actual societal norms very closely which I know would be relevant.
So of course, I agree with being yourself - and that's about as close to confidence as I can get. I mean confident or not confident just doesn't make sense if you're being yourself right? You are just who you are, what.. the attitude doesn't change who you are, it's just a feeling. So it just doesn't compute. Now I would distinguish that from assertiveness, though. But that also doesn't compute. Maybe part of this is because I'm a guy, but why should I be assertive with a woman when what she wants matters too? I would think it makes more sense to be gracious and think more about what she wants, so this makes no sense to me. Oh well, I think sometimes in the land of the free all these little social norms makes no sense, sometimes I feel like an alien - but I have fun.