What is femininity?

relationshipdownvote · 2015-01-11T21:48:25+00:00

Submissiveness, caring for others, having strong emotions and empathy for the weak and helpless, having a concern for appearance and tight social groups.

Men are strong, smart and leaders. Women are caring, beautiful and socially adept. I think these are the natural qualities, which is why more women are nurses and more men are engineers. However I think in order to be really successful in today's world women have to become smart, and men have to become social.

ms_quince · 2015-01-11T21:51:45+00:00

I think it's a social construct rooted in a combination of biology, history, and economics. I don't know where the lines are drawn.

I work in an industry where men and women frequently have characteristics associated with the other gender. I've never seen a correlation between happiness and how successful someone is at being a masculine man or a feminine woman.

I've found it a lot more productive and fulfilling to work with passionate, creative people without viewing them through a male/female view. It's none of my business how women are or should be, all I have to concern myself is with what's right for me, as both a woman and a person, and the people in my life.

soylentblueissmurfs · 2015-01-12T14:44:53+00:00

[deleted]

What is this?

radialomens · 2015-01-11T23:01:34+00:00

To me femininity means make-up, pretty but not overtly sexual clothes, being polite, and not being a loudmouth. By that definition I am 100% feminine.

However, I don't define femininity as "what it is to be a woman" (or masculinity as what it is to be a man). It's just a set of behavior that fits the stereotypical gender role. People who live outside of that are not living outside of their gender, just outside of stereotypes.

Iwillpixiecutyou · 2015-01-12T06:52:06+00:00

This just came up in another post, if you don't mind I'll share what I put there with edits for context (apology for length)

I think femininity and masculinity are human inventions which are greatly romanticized.

Romanticizing does not mean disney, pretend, or unrealistic. History is OFTEN romanticized. It means inaccurate to make it better than it actually was. You can recreate this interpretation of it, but it never really existed as you imagined it. I do not think people wish to emulate the historical past but I do believe some people wish to emulate the concept of femininity that it produced. "Femininity" (as is "masculinity") is an artificial construct, and even at its inception, never existed in the way we imagine it today, which we do with no context of actually living through what it was like to be one gender or the other at different times in history.

The concept of femininity was formed concurrently with the absence and abuse of human rights of women. There was no separation at their inception. The concept of femininity, as any of us know it, could not exist without the concept of women as secondary humans, not equal to men. They were coexisting beliefs. You can not advocate for femininity without acknowledging that it would not have existed without the oppression that was a reality for women. If you enjoy the ideas of femininity (or masculinity), and likely you have been socialized with them and they are part of your identity, that is fine. However, they are not natural or inherently right for you, and I say this while still saying they may be just fine in this new concept of them. But understand they have been placed out of context from their history, and are not the thing they represent. The thing they represented included the oppression of human rights, and good riddance to that.

O-Tori · 2015-01-11T23:07:20+00:00

Largely a social construction, but since childbearing is something that only biologically female people can do, you can bet that femininity is always going to include that and traits associated with it.

LeGrandDiableBlanc · 2015-01-12T19:22:14+00:00

I tend to view sex roles as they related to reproduction. So being feminine is about having skills to identify a worthy father for their future children, having the skills and innate physicality to attract said man, and finally having skills related to raising that child and keeping that man around to help.

[deleted] · 2015-01-20T10:01:32+00:00

I don't know. Most of the typically feminine stuff come accross as a certain soothing, comforting harmlessness, silky skin, sweet perfume and fur pillows. But there is also a certain appeal to the dangerous-looking femme fatale type, the vampire-woman, vamp stuff, with the dagger-like heels and all that. Which is literally the opposite.

But I think the point is perhaps that both the harmless and the dangerous female stereotypes are classy. IMHO the least attractive thing for a woman is to not be classy. A man can get away better with getting drunk on beer and swaying and belching aloud and generally being a pig, although it is still disgusting, but when a woman does this this is usually a 200% turn-off.

So I guess both looking harmless and looking deadly can be equally feminine as long as she can also pull off looking like a countess through all that.

But, this is, like, my opinion only.

Villaintine · 2015-01-11T22:57:47+00:00

What is femininity to you?

The opposite of how many blueper women act... I guess the best description would be the opposite of a massive, snarky cunt.

GI_Hugh_Johnson · 2015-01-11T21:32:19+00:00

If masculinity is what it is to be a man, then what is it to be a woman?

Feminine.

oriaxxx · 2015-01-11T22:36:51+00:00

I neither know nor care, honestly.

Aerobus · 2015-01-11T22:49:59+00:00

Submissive, caring, compliant, innocent, meek, supportive, cheerful, are all terms that come to mind when I try to define what being feminine is. Of course, it's not necessarily all of these qualities, nor is it equal amounts of these qualities.

VermiciousKnidzz · 2015-01-11T21:45:48+00:00

its different for every culture and age, but right now im western culture it's defined by traits that perpetuate stereotypes that women's worth is in their physical appearance and whether or not they can have kids.

namae_nanka · 2015-01-11T21:57:51+00:00

You should know the likes of Kevin Solway.

http://www.theabsolute.net/minefield/j3.html

cxj · 2015-01-11T22:24:51+00:00

Babez

Title	What is femininity?
Author	Petticoat_Rule
Upvotes	3
Comments	60
Date	January 11, 2015 9:10 PM UTC (11 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/PurplePillDebate
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/PurplePillDebate/comments/2s3eip/what_is_femininity/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/PurplePillDebate/what-is-femininity.283833 https://theredarchive.com/post/283833

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