Femininity
Femininity (also called womanliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and
Traits traditionally cited as feminine include gracefulness,
Overview and history
Despite the terms femininity and masculinity being in common usage, there is little scientific agreement about what femininity and masculinity are.[3]: 5 Among scholars, the concept of femininity has varying meanings.[8]
Professor of English Tara Williams has suggested that modern notions of femininity in English-speaking society began during the
In 1949, French intellectual Simone de Beauvoir wrote that "no biological, psychological or economic fate determines the figure that the human female presents in society" and "one is not born, but rather becomes, a woman".[12] The idea was picked up in 1959 by Canadian-American sociologist Erving Goffman[13] and in 1990 by American philosopher Judith Butler,[14] who theorized that gender is not fixed or inherent but is rather a socially defined set of practices and traits that have, over time, grown to become labelled as feminine or masculine.[15] Goffman argued that women are socialized to present themselves as "precious, ornamental and fragile, uninstructed in and ill-suited for anything requiring muscular exertion" and to project "shyness, reserve and a display of frailty, fear and incompetence".[16]
Scientific efforts to measure femininity and masculinity were pioneered by psychologists
Alongside the
Second-wave feminists, influenced by de Beauvoir, believed that although biological differences between females and males were innate, the concepts of femininity and masculinity had been culturally constructed, with traits such as passivity and tenderness assigned to women and aggression and intelligence assigned to men.[18][19] Girls, second-wave feminists said, were then socialized with toys, games, television, and school into conforming to feminine values and behaviors.[18] In her significant 1963 book The Feminine Mystique, American feminist Betty Friedan wrote that the key to women's subjugation lay in the social construction of femininity as childlike, passive, and dependent,[20] and called for a "drastic reshaping of the cultural image of femininity."[21]
Behavior and personality
Traits such as nurturance, sensitivity, sweetness,[8] supportiveness,[22][23] gentleness, [23][24] warmth,[22][24] passivity, cooperativeness, expressiveness,[17] modesty, humility, empathy,[23] affection, tenderness,[22] and being emotional, kind, helpful, devoted, and understanding[24] have been cited as stereotypically feminine. The defining characteristics of femininity vary between and even within societies.[22]
The relationship between feminine socialization and
Scholars have debated the extent to which
: 153–154In 1959, researchers such as John Money and Anke Ehrhardt proposed the prenatal hormone theory. Their research argues that sexual organs bathe the embryo with hormones in the womb, resulting in the birth of an individual with a distinctively male or female brain; this was suggested by some to "predict future behavioral development in a masculine or feminine direction".[30] This theory, however, has been criticized on theoretical and empirical grounds and remains controversial.[31][32] In 2005, scientific research investigating sex differences in psychology showed that gender expectations and stereotype threat affect behavior, and a person's gender identity can develop as early as three years of age.[33] Money also argued that gender identity is formed during a child's first three years.[29]
People who exhibit a combination of both masculine and feminine characteristics are considered androgynous, and feminist philosophers have argued that gender ambiguity may blur gender classification.[34][35] Modern conceptualizations of femininity also rely not just upon social constructions, but upon the individualized choices made by women.[36]
Philosopher Mary Vetterling-Braggin argues that all characteristics associated with femininity arose from early human sexual encounters which were mainly male-forced and female-unwilling, because of male and female anatomical differences.
In his 1998 book Masculinity and Femininity: the Taboo Dimension of National Cultures, Dutch psychologist and researcher
In Carl Jung's school of analytical psychology, the anima and animus are the two primary anthropomorphic archetypes of the unconscious mind. The anima and animus are described by Jung as elements of his theory of the collective unconscious, a domain of the unconscious that transcends the personal psyche. In the unconscious of the male, it finds expression as a feminine inner personality: anima; equivalently, in the unconscious of the female, it is expressed as a masculine inner personality: animus.[41]
Clothing and appearance
In Western cultures, the ideal of feminine appearance has traditionally included long, flowing hair, clear skin, a narrow waist, and little or no body hair or facial hair.[2][42][43] In other cultures, however, some expectations are different. For example, in many parts of the world, underarm hair is not considered unfeminine.[44] Today, the color pink is strongly associated with femininity, whereas in the early 1900s pink was associated with boys and blue with girls.[45]
These
In many Muslim countries, women are required to cover their heads with a hijab (veil). It is considered a symbol of feminine modesty and morality.[48][49] Some, however, see it as a symbol of objectification and oppression.[50][51]
In history
Cultural standards vary on what is considered feminine. For example, in 16th century France,
In
The typical feminine outfit of aristocratic women of the Renaissance was an undershirt with a gown and a high-waisted overgown, and a plucked forehead and beehive or turban-style hairdo.[54]
Body alteration
Body alteration is the deliberate altering of the human body for aesthetic or non-medical purpose.[55] One such purpose has been to induce perceived feminine characteristics in women.
For centuries in
In a few parts of Africa and Asia, neck rings are worn in order to elongate the neck. In these cultures, a long neck characterizes feminine beauty.
-
In China until the twentieth century, tiny, bound feet for women were considered aristocratic and feminine.
-
TheKayan people of Burma (Myanmar) associate the wearing of neck rings with feminine beauty.[61]
Traditional roles
Femininity
Leadership is associated with masculinity in Western culture and women are perceived less favorably as potential leaders.[69] However, some people have argued that feminine-style leadership, which is associated with leadership that focuses on help and cooperation, is advantageous over masculine leadership, which is associated with focusing on tasks and control.[70] Female leaders are more often described by Western media using characteristics associated with femininity, such as emotion.[70]
Explanations for occupational imbalance
Psychologist Deborah L. Best argues that primary sex characteristics of men and women, such as the ability to bear children, caused a historical sexual division of labor and that gender stereotypes evolved culturally to perpetuate this division.[71]
The practice of bearing children tends to interrupt the continuity of employment. According to
Role congruity theory
Role congruity theory proposes that people tend to view deviations from expected gender roles negatively. It supports the empirical evidence that gender discrimination exists in areas traditionally associated with one gender or the other. It is sometimes used to explain why people have a tendency to evaluate behavior that fulfills the prescriptions of a leader role less favorably when it is enacted by a woman.[72][73][74][75][76]
Religion and politics
Asian religions
In
In Taoism, the concept of yin represents the primary force of the female half of yin and yang. The yin is also present, to a smaller proportion, in the male half. The yin can be characterized as slow, soft, yielding, diffuse, cold, wet, and passive.[84]
Abrahamic theology
Although the
The
In
Communism
Later, the initial state portrayals of idealized femininity as strong and hard-working began to also include more traditional notions such as gentleness, caring and nurturing behaviour, softness, modesty and moral virtue,[89][96]: 53 requiring good communist women to become "superheroes who excelled in all spheres", including working at jobs not traditionally regarded as feminine in nature.[96]: 55–60
Communist ideology explicitly rejected some aspects of traditional femininity that it viewed as bourgeois and consumerist, such as helplessness, idleness and self-adornment. In Communist countries, some women resented not having access to cosmetics and fashionable clothes. In her 1993 book of essays
As communist countries such as Romania and the Soviet Union began to liberalize, their official media began representing women in more conventionally feminine ways compared with the "rotund farm workers and plain-Jane factory hand" depictions they had previously been publishing. As perfumes, cosmetics, fashionable clothing, and footwear became available to ordinary women in the Soviet Union, East Germany, Poland, Yugoslavia and Hungary, they began to be presented not as bourgeois frivolities but as signs of socialist modernity.[98] In China, with the economic liberation started by Deng Xiaoping in the 1980s, the state stopped discouraging women from expressing conventional femininity, and gender stereotypes and commercialized sexualization of women which had been suppressed under communist ideology began to rise.[99]
In men
In many cultures, men who display qualities considered feminine are often stigmatized and labeled as weak.[8] Effeminate men are often associated with homosexuality,[102][103] although femininity is not necessarily related to a man's sexual orientation.[104] Because men are pressured to be masculine and heterosexual, feminine men are assumed to be gay or queer because of how they perform their gender. This assumption limits the way one is allowed to express one's gender and sexuality.[105][106]
Cross-dressing and drag are two public performances of femininity by men that have been popularly known and understood throughout many western cultures. Men who wear clothing associated with femininity are often called cross-dressers.[107] A drag queen is a man who wears flamboyant women's clothing and behaves in an exaggeratedly feminine manner for entertainment purposes.
Feminist views
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Feminist philosophers such as Judith Butler and Simone de Beauvoir[108] contend that femininity and masculinity are created through repeated performances of gender; these performances reproduce and define the traditional categories of sex and/or gender.[109]
Many second-wave feminists reject what they regard as constricting standards of female beauty, created for the subordination and objectifying of women and self-perpetuated by reproductive competition and women's own aesthetics.[110]
Others, such as lipstick feminists and some other third-wave feminists, argue that feminism should not devalue feminine culture and identity, and that symbols of feminine identity such as make-up, suggestive clothing and having a sexual allure can be valid and empowering personal choices for both sexes.[111][112]
Julia Serano's transfeminist critique
This section may lend undue weight to certain ideas, incidents, or controversies. (July 2022) |
In her 2007 book Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity, American transsexual writer and biologist Julia Serano offers a transfeminist critique of femininity, notable especially for its call to empower femininity:[113][114]
Serano notes that some behaviors, such as frequent smiling or avoiding eye contact with strangers, are considered feminine because they are practised disproportionately by women, and likely have resulted from women's attempts to negotiate through a world which is sometimes hostile to them.[113]: 322
Serano argues that because contemporary culture is sexist, it assigns negative connotations to, or trivializes, behaviours understood to be feminine such as gossiping, behaving emotionally or decorating. It also recasts and reimagines femininity through a male
See also
- Feminine psychology
- Feminism
- Feminization (sociology)
- Effeminacy
- Gender role
- Gender studies
- Marianismo
- Masculinity
- Nature versus nurture
- Sociology of gender
- Transfeminine
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The masculinity side of this dimension represents a preference in society for achievement, heroism, assertiveness and material reward for success. Society at large is more competitive. Its opposite, femininity, stands for a preference for cooperation, modesty, caring for the weak and quality of life. Society at large is more consensus-oriented.
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On a global scale, flowers have not only defined femininity but the history of representations of flowers in art has underpinned differences in the sexual categories of masculine and feminine.
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Among everyday appearance practices in contemporary Western society, 'visible' makeup clearly marks the production of 'womanhood' and 'femininity': overall, women are the ones who wear makeup, men do not.
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Until feminists work to empower femininity and pry it away from the insipid, inferior meanings that plague it – weakness, helplessness, fragility, passivity, frivolity, and artificiality – those meanings will continue to haunt every person who is female and/or feminine.
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The rising visibility of trans, intersex, and genderqueer movements has led feminists—and, to a lesser extent, the rest of the world—to an increasing awareness that m and f are only the beginning of the story of gender identity. With the release of Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity, Julia Serano offers a perspective sorely needed, but up until now rarely heard: a transfeminine critique of both feminist and mainstream understandings of gender.
External links
- Quotations related to Femininity at Wikiquote
- The dictionary definition of femininity at Wiktionary
- Media related to Femininity at Wikimedia Commons