Femininity

femininity is defined as the quality or nature of the female sex. which over the years during old tradition was challenged by men and masculinity, and sometimes even now.

Femininity years ago used to be shown through obeying men and looking after the house and kids, but as the years went on, it evolved into the individuality of women and how they don’t need men to survive and live, and even the quality and freedom of woman’s life’s broadened into what they could do.

This influenced women’s identity and strengthened it. But it didn’t just come to women, they had top prove and fight for the right to be viewed as self sufficient and capable of similar things.

Masculinity

Masculinity is defined as qualities or attributes regarded as characteristic of men or boys.

Masculinity years ago was challenged to what made you a man, especially towards younger boys, they had to prove to become and man and to be strong with little emotion, with its main component being power.

Although it was easier during this time for a man in comparison to women it still had its struggles. Now masculinity is more flexible and is in a similar state to women’s, for example self worth, pride in who and what you are, but it definitely still has a difference, and still includes aspects of what it means to be a man years ago. It can be complicating but it all comes down to the identity that you give yourself.

Identity

Identity is a big mix of things now compared to many years ago, and has changed drastically in the last 20 years. Identity is the fact of being who or what you are, and can come in many ideal ways especially now. Identity is formed through many things, one of them being your upbringing, and who you where surrounded by as a child, which is when your first identity starts to form. Child influences are a baseline ingrained into their identity for example looking up to a certain person, which would inspire them to be like them.

The identity is then challenged as a teenager which is when you are a person starts to form, and who/what you really want to be, It is especially grown through friends and pier groups, with some people wanting to be accepted into being something/someone, so a persona is put on to fit in or to get along with people in general, which then after time becomes this persons identity, as least temporarily. Other influences like where you where born, for example a tribe, where you where taught how to hunt and had rituals, which would create an identity to that tribe, and a feel of belonging. This concept links with being born in a certain country and even area, especially in jersey where it is a small area people identify as being from jersey.

Some forms of identity is formed negatively though, for example through a persons loss of a family member, especially a mother or father if they where at a young age, which would cause them to have an altered identity because of the lack of both sides which is normally needed. Another way is through a trauma, identity can be caused and altered though a bad experience which is held on by them and is never really let go, which causes them to have their identity changed through it, as if you where to learn a bad lesson and never do it again or learn form it.

One other form of identity is through gender, which especially now is very flexible. People can be identified as inanimate things, or without either gender towards them, as they identify as neither male or female.

Feminity vs Masculinity

The themes of ‘Feminity and Masculinity’ are a binary opposite – a pair of related terms or concepts that are opposite in meaning.

The views, opinions, and notions of femininity and masculinity are, in my opinion, being questioned and transformed as new generations are born, as individuals are being provided and given more freedom to find who they are and how they prefer to portray themselves. forming diverse conceptions of femininity and masculinity.

Masculinities and femininities refer to the social roles, behaviours, and meanings prescribed for men and women in any society at any time. Such normative gender ideologies must be distinguished from biological ‘sex,’ and must be understood to be plural as there is no single definition for all men and all women.

The degree to which society values assertiveness and achievement is referred to as masculinity. Contrarily, femininity refers to how society values quality-of-life problems like assisting others, forming strong social bonds, and advocating for the underprivileged. In other words, society still acknowledges a divide in values between men and women. In communities that are predominately masculine, this component is typically seen as forbidden.

Identity Politics

The term “identity politics” refers to a political strategy in which members of a particular religion, race, social class, or other identifying factor form exclusive socio-political alliances, eschewing coalitional politics in favor of supporting and adhering to political movements that share a similar identifying characteristic. Its goal is to center and promote certain groups’ objectives, projects, and concerns in light of particular social and political changes.

Identity can be influenced by many factors, including one’s environment, upbringing, and sense of belonging. For example, gender identity can be shaped by societal expectations and cultural norms, while cultural identity can be influenced by one’s upbringing and heritage. Social identity can be impacted by the groups and communities one belongs to, while geographical identity can be shaped by one’s connection to a particular place or region. Political identity can be influenced by one’s beliefs and values, while lack of or loss of identity can result from trauma or displacement. Stereotypes and prejudices can also impact how individuals perceive themselves and are perceived by others, which can shape their identity.

The Combahee River Collective, a Black feminist lesbian socialist group active in Boston from 1974 to 1980, coined the phrase in 1977. During the early 1980s, it was widely used, and over the years, depending on the context, it has been used in a variety of situations with drastically varied connotations. It has gained popularity along with the rise of social action, appearing in a number of conversations among the feminist, LGBT, and American civil rights movements, as well as disability organizations, several nationalist, and postcolonial groups, such as the Black Lives Matter movement.

What is Multi Exposure?

A ‘multiple exposure’ is a type of photograph that is created by exposing the same frame of film to light more than once. Multiple exposures allow a photographer to superimpose one subject or scene over another on the same frame of a photograph. Think of the classic ghost photograph, often caused by forgetting to wind on an analogue camera between shots thus creating a ghostly multiple exposure image. Multiple exposures can also be created digitally, although this is done during post processing by overlaying multiple photography over each other. A sports sequence photograph can be seen as being another example of a multiple exposure.

My Responses

Photoshop edit

Femininity – qualities or attributes regarded as characteristic of women or girls.

Masculinity – qualities and attributes regarded as characteristic of men. 

When we talk about masculinity and femininity, we’re talking about a person’s gender. Gender is a social construct, and is one of many ways we as humans make meaning and create social structures.

Feminine traits include being emotional, collaborative, nurturing, vulnerable, caring and humble. Comparing to masculine traits which are considered as dominant, strong, independent, assertive, brave and innovative.

When looking at both these traits I don’t see gender. Traditionally feminine traits are considered bad or unwanted, I believe that is why women and men have taken to more masculine traits. In the workplace, I found it better to be dominant, assertive, and strong than it is to be caring, humble and emotional. Now, why is this? Why have we taken these traits and immediately started labeling them? All of the feminine traits are associated with women, whereas the masculine traits are associated with men. If a woman is seen being dominant or assertive she is bossy, but if a man is dominant or assertive he’s a boss and is taking control. We can say the same thing about a man who is seen crying or being caring, he can be considered weak,  but if a woman is emotional or caring it is considered good or the way she is supposed to act.

It is time that society realizes that masculinity and femininity are not traits we associate with depending on gender, but instead depending on the character. To be balanced and better people, I believe we need to have both masculine traits and feminine traits. 

How can identity be influenced?

The geography and cultures of our town influence our productivity, creativity and happiness. Our contentment with our identity has a lot to do with the opportunities our location affords us. If we feel isolated, out of place or unaccepted in the collective identity, we may come into conflict with our personal identity.

Identity can be influenced by upbringing, as people may have been pressured since being young to act/be a certain way, or what is deemed ‘appropriate’ and ‘fitting’… either that being towards their religion, gender, personality or beliefs. Your upbringing can be the biggest influence on the person you will turn out as, to be moulded into the person you are.

IDENTITY POLITICS is a term that describes a political approach wherein people of a particular religion, race, social background, class or other identifying factor form exclusive socio-political alliances, moving away from broad-based, coalitional politics to support and follow political movements that share a particular identifying quality with them. Its aim is to support and centre the concerns, agendas, and projects of particular groups, in accord with specific social and political changes.

Femininity vs Masculinity

The themes of ‘FEMININITY and MASCULINITY’ are a binary opposite – a pair of related terms or concepts that are opposite in meaning.

Masculinities and femininities refer to the social roles, behaviours, and meanings prescribed for men and women in any society at any time. Such normative gender ideologies must be distinguished from biological ‘sex,’ and must be understood to be plural as there is no single definition for all men and all women.

In my opinion as new generations are born the views, opinions and ideas of femininity and masculinity are being challenged and changed as people are being given and allowed more freedom to discover who they are and how they like to present themselves. Creating different visions on the views on femininity and masculinity.

Masculinity describes the degree to which society focus on assertiveness and achievement. When in contrary, femininity describes the focus of society to quality-of-life issues, such as caring for others, group solidarity and helping the less fortunate are valued. In other words, society still recognizes a gap between male and female values. This dimension is frequently viewed as taboo in highly masculine societies.

Masculinity

• Masculinity: Strong egos – feelings of pride and importance are attributed to status. Money and achievement are important. Examples of masculinity cultures are Slovakia, Japan, Hungary, Austria, Venezuela.

Femininity

• Femininity: Relationship oriented, more focus on quality of life. Examples of femininity culture are Sweden, Norway, Netherlands and Denmark.

Identity can be influenced with many factors one of the main factors is your environment for example if you grew up in a patriarchal place or family men are going to show more dominant attributes and females are going be seen as more submissive.

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