So what defines masculinity and femininity?

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BusyRaeNOTBusty
BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
in Chit-Chat
Let us discuss.

Male traits = masculine. Female traits = feminine.

What dictates the differences in male and female traits? Chromosomes and hormones. Correct? I have a vagina, not a penis. Ovaries instead of testicles. These hormones made my hips more round than the average males. They dictate that I have breast tissue and am capable of lactating. I do not build muscles as easily as men. I have less body hair than the average male. My jaw might be rounder but then again it might be somewhat squarish.

They DO NOT mean I can have no muscle, or need to carry around 25% body fat. They do NOT mean I have to keep my hair long, wear skirts, pink, or high heels.

I am feminine because my chromosomes and hormones have made me so. Any definition of femininity or masculinity beyond this is driven by society and therefor artificial.

Replies

  • HeidiMightyRawr
    HeidiMightyRawr Posts: 3,343 Member
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    :drinker:

    I have nothing much to say to this, I just wanted to respond that I agree!
  • user135534534
    user135534534 Posts: 7
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    I do my child.
  • VelociMama
    VelociMama Posts: 3,119 Member
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    :heart: Love this thread.
  • billsica
    billsica Posts: 4,741 Member
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    http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16934-girl-with-y-chromosome-sheds-light-on-maleness.html
  • pullipgirl
    pullipgirl Posts: 767 Member
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    I do my child.

    and our main light source gives us cancer thanks God lol
  • wolverine66
    wolverine66 Posts: 3,779 Member
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    well... that wasn't very lady like, was it?









    :wink:
  • Wende3
    Wende3 Posts: 41
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    I tell my sons women can do anything a man can do and we can have babies too! lol Then they say yea but you can't pee standing up and I say we can but it will dribble down our leg. ha ha!!! :laugh:
  • UpEarly
    UpEarly Posts: 2,555 Member
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    I tell my sons women can do anything a man can do and we can have babies too! lol Then they say yea but you can't pee standing up and I say we can but it will dribble down our leg. ha ha!!! :laugh:

    Have you never heard of a 'She Wee'!? (http://www.sheweeusa.com/shop/)

    They're very popular with female hikers. :laugh:
  • trackstack
    trackstack Posts: 174 Member
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    Being both and f'n awesome...db FTW.


    2h3qv5e.jpg
  • WinnerVictorious
    WinnerVictorious Posts: 4,735 Member
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    Let us discuss.

    Male traits = masculine. Female traits = feminine.

    What dictates the differences in male and female traits? Chromosomes and hormones. Correct? I have a vagina, not a penis. Ovaries instead of testicles. These hormones made my hips more round than the average males. They dictate that I have breast tissue and am capable of lactating. I do not build muscles as easily as men. I have less body hair than the average male. My jaw might be rounder but then again it might be somewhat squarish.

    They DO NOT mean I can have no muscle, or need to carry around 25% body fat. They do NOT mean I have to keep my hair long, wear skirts, pink, or high heels.

    I am feminine because my chromosomes and hormones have made me so. Any definition of femininity or masculinity beyond this is driven by society and therefor artificial.

    male or female?

    pat_medium_image.jpg
  • love4fitnesslove4food_wechange
    love4fitnesslove4food_wechange Posts: 6,897 Member
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    are you asking opinions? There are MINE...

    femininity is not equal to being a female --> femininity to me is embracing/living/subscribing to the traits that society has defined as being "feminine"

    masculinity TO ME is not equal to being a male --> masculinity is the same as femininity in terms of what it "means" to me.

    some traits...

    femininity: sensitive, soft spoken (so not me), usually longer hair is MORE feminine but just because you have short hair doesn't mean you're automatically masculine, well groomed, motherly, "prissy," likes clothing/fashion, sexually discreet

    masculinity: musclular, hard working, a bit more aggressive than you'd find with femininity , sexually overt, and subdued emotional response

    Now femininity and masculinity are totally stereotypical terms --I don't think women or men should subscribe to them because it stifles individuality but this is merely what the terms mean to me. I think that people should be INDIVIDUALS and not allow societal ideals to dictate whether they embrace or suppress various characteristics.
  • saxmaniac
    saxmaniac Posts: 1,133 Member
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    I believe there are both social and biological functions to masculinity and femininity. The cultural components are also contextual - long hair might be feminine in place X and time Y, but not elsewhere at a different time. On top of that, I think *many* of the social/cultural components actually are long term-effects (as in, thousands of years) of the biological functions which affect social organization.
  • Oishii
    Oishii Posts: 2,675 Member
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    Firstly, men can actually lactate. Cool survival mechanism for a species, right?

    There are other differences too though, thoroughly proven by research. Our eyes are built differently, so a man's eye is better at perceiving periferal movement and women see better in the dark. This connects therefore to brain differences and preferences, so the preferred stimuli of new-born boy and girl babies are different (movement v. faces). Boys' hearing is worse, so my male pupils really can't believe I can hear what they think they just whispered, whereas girls can whisper below my radar. So being male and being female are quite different states of being and experiences of life, even before society steps in.

    That being said, on a test we did at school, amongst the staff, I was more masculine than feminine. All of my friends were in that middle, grey area between the two, and all the people I just don't get were at the two extremes. I do not know if this type of difference is biological or societal.

    As for body fat, it's your choice, but personally I wouldn't want to go below a body fat which has been shown to increase the likelihood of health problems, especially infertility, as I would like to get pregnant right now. When that's no longer my goal, I may see what a lower BF% is like, but I would still want to read up on why the WHO calls below 21% (I think it was) 'under fat' for women.
  • Game8
    Game8 Posts: 442
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    We all have a little bit of both in us, just enjoy whatever you're given and let nature manifest itself through us however it does.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    Firstly, men can actually lactate. Cool survival mechanism for a species, right?

    There are other differences too though, thoroughly proven by research. Our eyes are built differently, so a man's eye is better at perceiving periferal movement and women see better in the dark. This connects therefore to brain differences and preferences, so the preferred stimuli of new-born boy and girl babies are different (movement v. faces). Boys' hearing is worse, so my male pupils really can't believe I can hear what they think they just whispered, whereas girls can whisper below my radar. So being male and being female are quite different states of being and experiences of life, even before society steps in.

    That being said, on a test we did at school, amongst the staff, I was more masculine than feminine. All of my friends were in that middle, grey area between the two, and all the people I just don't get were at the two extremes. I do not know if this type of difference is biological or societal.

    As for body fat, it's your choice, but personally I wouldn't want to go below a body fat which has been shown to increase the likelihood of health problems, especially infertility, as I would like to get pregnant right now. When that's no longer my goal, I may see what a lower BF% is like, but I would still want to read up on why the WHO calls below 21% (I think it was) 'under fat' for women.

    Very interesting. I knew there were significant brain differences but know very little about them.

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