Femininity is a set of attributes, behaviours, and roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as socially constructed, and there is also some evidence that some behaviours considered feminine are influenced by cultural factors and biological factors. Femininity creates stereotypes for the ways a woman should both behave and look. The societal expectations for a ‘feminine’ appearance include long hair, softer features and clothing choices like dresses and skirts. Traditional femininity sets societal expectations and standards to create toxic femininity. Toxic femininity can create societal pressures for women due to the enforcement of unrealistic beauty standards and behaviours. This causes some women to feel judged, constrained and pressured to fit these expectations, possibly even causing them to experience struggles such as isolation, anxiety, and hiding their true identity.
Society’s perception of femininity has changed over the last century as shown:
1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
Some factors of femininity are :
Gracefulness
Gentleness
Empathy
Loving
Humility
Sensitivity
Emotional
In the 1900s, and only up until recently, women were often objectified and seen as ‘less’ than men. This was a common stereotype that was shared across the world. It was expected that women were to stay at home with their children and spend their days cooking and cleaning for the family. Whereas men were expected to go out and do work in order to provide for the family. Women were not allowed to get jobs as it was only viewed as a ‘masculine’, meaning people assumed they were not capable of doing a mans job. This made life tough for women as well as young girls growing up because they were portrayed as weak and incapable.
However, perspectives began to change soon after when many women began standing up for themselves. Although, it was tough at first and men continued to belittle them, women eventually began claiming power and often proving to people they were capable of doing anything a man could do. This became more and more successful over time and proved they were as strong as them. Today, women are still fighting for equal rights to men, but the stereotypes and expectations of women have adapted and improved.
Binary opposition:
The themes of ‘FEMININITY and MASCULINITY’ are a binary opposite – a pair of related terms or concepts that are opposite in meaning.
Binary opposition originated in Saussurean structuralist theory in Linquistics (scientific study of language) According to Ferdinand de Saussure, binary opposition is the system by which, in language and thought, two theoretical opposites are strictly defined and set off against one another. Using binary opposites can often be very helpful in generating ideas for a photographic project as it provides a framework – a set of boundaries to work within.
“she alternated between embracing her femininity and concealing it”
Femininity : femininity is defined as qualities or attributes regarded as characteristics of women or girls.
Masculinity : masculinity is defined as qualities or attributes regarded as characteristics of men or boys.
FEMININITY THEME
Femininity also called womanliness is a set of attributes, behaviours and roles that generally associate with woman and girls. Some behaviours that are considered feminine are influenced by both cultural and biological factors.
Some factors of femininity are :
Gracefulness
Gentlness
Loving
Nurturing
Emotional
Sensitivity
These are all stereotypical factors of femininity, however some woman will not show these characteristics because not every woman is the same and they may feel different about different situations to to others. Woman are stereotyped to be seen as more weak than boys and are seen to be more gentle and understanding instead of taking control of a situation.
History
Around 1950, woman were told they had to stay at home and do the cleaning, cooking and to look after the kids whilst the ” man of the house ” went to work and earned the money for the family. Woman were also objectified and seen as a males property rather than a human being to benefit men. This is not acceptable now and woman should not be told they have to stay at home to do those things, woman are now able to go to work and also earn money to support the family. A women’s purpose was to make children and support them only.
Nowadays, there are many woman who don’t feel as though they fit into the category of the stereotypical woman and want to change genders because they feel more comfortable in a males body. There has been a lot of discussion lately about transgender people all over the world because those who feel they want to transgender want to be accepted as how they are and what they feel is right for them. This is also vice versa towards men. This is now acceptable in our generation and society meaning women and men both have a lot more freedom and can do things as they please and do not feel forced into the stereotypes. However, there is slightly still some misogyny within the work environment as men and women may work the same hours and have the same ability but men will have a higher pay rise. Moreover, some women also feel unable to do jobs because they are seen as a masculine job e.g engineer, plumber etc.
One famous feminist photographer is Cindy Sherman
Sherman’s photography is a depiction of the different ways culture defines “woman.” Her art plays on the feminist idea that gender arises exclusively within culture and deconstructs dominant gender ideologies, representing the underside of popular culture’s definition of “woman.” Cindy Sherman is a female photographer who portrays female stereotypes of the 1950’s and 1960’s. When creating her images, she is not only the photographer but the subject as well. Sherman examines and distorts femininity as a social construct. “I like making images that from a distance seem kind of seductive, colourful, luscious and engaging, and then you realize what you’re looking at is something totally opposite,” she reflected.
What are the theories of masculinity and femininity?
Femininity and masculinity are rooted in the social (one’s gender) rather than the biological (one’s sex). It is important to distinguish gender identity, as presented above, from other gender-related concepts such as gender roles, which are shared expectations of behaviour given one’s gender.
Social scientists believe that we acquire characteristics and behaviours’ because of how they are understood by those around us; we gradually become masculine and/or feminine, and we behave in gendered ways in various circumstances for a variety of reasons.
According to the feminist theory, “gender may be a factor in how human beings represent reality.” Men and women will construct different types of structures about the self, and, consequently, their thought processes may diverge in content and form.
What is Goffman’s gender display theory?
Goffman argues that “females in advertising are frequently posing while “using their fingers and hands to trace the outlines of an object, or to cradle it or to caress its surface”. This ritualistic touching is to be distinguished from the utilitarian kind that grasps, manipulates, or holds”.
What is the difference between masculine and feminine poses?
A closed or clenched hand tends to be more masculine while a relaxed or lightly curved hand has a feminine inference. Unlike feminine poses, masculine poses avoid softening the pose with rounded shoulders or exaggerated shoulders, hips, and legs.
“Masc” and “femme” are both shortened versions of masculine and feminine, but are used specifically within the lesbian community (as well as the gay community) and have their own unique connotations. Check out this article in Out Magazine about how femme has come to be defined in recent years and many different things can affect these opinions and changes such as religion.
Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artefacts of Mexico, she died Died: July 13, 1954, in Mexico. Kahlo was best known for her uncompromising and brilliantly coloured self-portraits that deal with such themes as identity, the human body, and death. Although she denied the connection, she is often identified as a Surrealist as she captures beauty and self love in her images and she can relate and show a lot within her images as she’s reflecting her work with masc and fem.
Frida considered herself an individual. She embraced both her masculine and feminine side and helped break down barriers surrounding gender stereotypes.
She Focused on the spotlight on raw and honest situations that women undergo, she showcased them through aspects of miscarriage, abortion, breastfeeding, birth etc.
I have chosen Fridha Khalo because she interests me within her type of photograph’s and I payed careful attention to the way she brings out masc and fem in her images.
Claude Cahun
He was a French surrealist photographer, sculptor, and writer. Schwob adopted the pseudonym Claude Cahun in 1914. Cahun is best known as a writer and self-portraitist, who assumed a variety of performative personae, Died: December 8, 1954, Saint Helier.
In 1944, Cahun and Moore were arrested and sentenced to death, but the sentence was never carried out, as the island was liberated from German occupation in 1945. However, Cahun’s health never recovered from her treatment in jail, and she died in 1954. Cahun is buried in St Brelade’s Church with partner Moore.
Despite the social restrictions of her time, Cahun refused to conform to gender norms, adopting a masculine appearance and using gender-neutral pronouns to assert her identity.
What pronouns did Claude Cahun use?
There are convincing arguments to be made for both she/her/hers and they/them/theirs; she/her/hers because that is what was used for Cahun when they were alive and used themself; they/them/theirs because of their oft-discussed detachment from being a woman or a man.
Cahun is best known as a writer and self-portraitist, who assumed a variety of performative personae. In her writing she consistently referred to herself as “elle” (she), and this article follows her practice; but she also said that her actual gender was fluid, which is why Frida Kahlo and Cahun are very similar. they both show senses of exploring identity and a theme of masculinity vs femini which shows so much in our society and shown different yet similar we are to each other.
This is one of Kahlos photos. It shows self of identity and you cant really tell if its masc or fem which is what is great about the photo.
Here is another one which you would think appears female but has some male traits which shows a sense of identity and how open Kahlo was before she passed.
Where as Claud uses more sperate ideas of the photo, such as..
The one on the left shows a bit of both ideas and angles of masc and fem whereas the photograph on the right shows masc traits and is clearly a male from what you can see.
Both artists use many different techinques to get there photo the way they wanted them too. Both showed theory of identity and loads of different themes within our world and society even today.
Masculinity is set behaviors, and roles associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as socially constructed, and there is also evidence that some behaviors considered masculine are influenced by both cultural factors and biological factors. It is distinct from the definition of the biological male sex,[5][6] as anyone can exhibit masculine traits.[7] Standards of masculinity vary across different cultures and historical periods.
Masculinity is seen to be the trait which emphasizes ambition, acquisition of wealth, and differentiated gender roles. Femininity is seen to be the trait which stress caring and nurturing behaviours, sexuality equality, environmental awareness, and more fluid gender roles.
What is the true definition of masculinity?
Masculinity = social expectations of being a man: The term ‘masculinity’ refers to the roles, behaviors and attributes that are considered appropriate for boys and men in a given society. Masculinity is constructed and defined socially, historically and politically, rather than being biologically driven.
What is the real definition of femininity?
: the quality or nature of the female sex : the quality, state, or degree of being feminine or womanly. challenging traditional notions about femininity and masculinity.
There is also a thing called binary opposite’s..
Particular aspects of identity derived from places we belong to arise because places have figures and images that have meaning and are significant to us. Places represent personal and social memories because they are positioned in the socio- historical matrix of intergroup relations.
Such as..
Gender socialization occurs through four major agents: family, education, peer groups, and mass media. Each agent reinforces gender roles by creating and maintaining normative expectations for gender-specific behaviour.
Social and environmental cues direct individuals to pay attention to external messages—beliefs, values, symbols, and affects—that are deemed self-referent.
What is the difference between masculine and feminine posing?
A closed or clenched hand tends to be more masculine while a relaxed or lightly curved hand has a feminine inference. Unlike feminine poses, masculine poses avoid softening the pose with rounded shoulders or exaggerated shoulders, hips, and legs.
What makes a pose masculine?
Stereotypical male model poses all involve making the man look fierce. Anything that can be done to convey power and dominance should be included in the pose. While females are always looking for ways to emphasize curves, men are looking for hard angles and straight lines.
Create Curves-They’re what make most women feel feminine. Highlighting a female model’s curves also has the added benefit of making the waist look more defined. In standing poses this can be achieved by having the model put her weight on her back foot. Add in a knee bend away from the camera and boom.
Femininity : femininity is defined as qualities or attributes regarded as characteristics of women or gils.
Masculinity : masculinity is defined as qualities or attributes regarded as characteristics of men or boys.
These stereotypes can be influenced by where people are brought up or who they are brought up around. Some people may be brought up around the stereotype that woman should be stay at home mums who care and devote themselves to their husbands while the husbands go and bring home the money for the family. Other people may be brought up around the idea that woman are their own people who can go and work and provide for themselves. This all depends on where and who your brought up around.
Male stereotypes –
Powerful
Strong
Scary
Rough
Violent
Men are usually thought of like this because of how the wide variety of people see them.
Woman stereotypes –
Kind
Loving
Helpful
Nurturing
Emotional
While woman are thought of like this because of how the wide variety of people see them.
Most of the time however, these stereotypes are not correct because of the change of society’s observations throughout the years. Some woman could could be perceived with the stereotypes of a man, whereas a man could have the stereotypes of a woman.
Femininity also called womanliness is a set of attributes, behaviours and roles that generally associate with woman and girls. Some behaviours that are considered feminine are influenced by both cultural and biological factors.
Some factors of femininity are :
Gracefulness
Gentlness
Empathy
Humility
Sensitivity
These are all stereotypical factors of femininity, however some woman will not show these characteristics because not every woman is the same and they may feel different about different situations to to others. Woman are stereotyped to be seen as more weak than boys and are seen to be more gentle and understanding instead of taking control of a situation.
Around 1950, woman were told they had to stay at home and do the cleaning, cooking and to look after the kids whilst the husband went to work and earned the money for the family. Woman were also objectified and seen as a males property rather than a human being. This is not acceptable now and woman should not be told they have to stay at home to do those things, woman are now able to go to work and also earn money to support the family.
Nowadays, there are many woman who don’t feel as though they fit into the category of the stereotypical woman and feel as though they have to transgender because they feel more comfortable in a males body. There has been a lot of discussion lately about transgender people all over the world because those who feel they want to transgender want to be accepted as how they are and what they feel is right for them.
Identity politics, is politics based on a particular identity, such as :
Race
Nationality
Sexual orientation
Religion
Gender
Social background
Social class
Culture wars –
In political science, a culture war is a type of cultural conflict between different social groups who struggle to politically impose their own ideology (beliefs, virtues, practices) upon their society.
An example of a culture war is the gamergate controversy.
Impact on society –
These stereotypes and identities had a very large impact on society because people assume people that have these differences are not normal, because everyone is not the same.
It also causes tunnel vision for some people depending on what they were told growing up was ‘the norm’.
An example of how this has had an impact on society would be the Black Lives Matter movement.
Positives and Negatives –
A positive of society grouping people with similarities is because if that particular group of people get targeted it could bring them together and closer as a group.
A negative of society grouping people with similarities is that they could spread hate toward people who do not have those similarities instead of supporting people for their differences.
Gender identity –
Gender identity could mean a variety of things depending on the person, however there are loads of stereotypical ideas of gender identity.
Masculine stereotypes –
Some male stereotypes include men are meant to be strong physically and mentally and not show weakness and make the money for their family. Men are also stereotypically not meant to show any emotion towards sadness and are perceived as angry and uncontrollable.
Feministic stereotypes –
On the other hand, woman are stereotypically perceived as submissive and ‘soft’, and overall weaker then a man – physically and emotionally. Woman are also stereotypically thought to be the ‘housewife’ as they would look after the children and the house while the husband would get the money.
Both men and woman have defied these stereotypes throughout the years as people have found what makes them feel comfortable whether that is the woman making the money and the man staying at home or something more adventurous such as clothes or how they show themselves. This is shown a lot through Claude Cahun’s photography work.
Cultural identity and loss of identity –
Cultural identity is a large focus in todays society, since people want to go back to their roots and find their cultural identity to become more in touch with it especially if they are generations detatched.
Staying in touch with your culture is very important to large groups of people. However some people have never felt out of touch with it since they may have been brought up around it in their households and such.
Different cultures have a lot of different views on certain things the average Caucasian person may not understand. It may be significantly more difficult for a person being brought up in a different cultured house to where they are living since they need to stay in touch with their culture to please the people in their household but also conform to normalities from wherever they are staying to please everyone else.
Social identity –
Social identity is where people feel the need to conform with the social groups around them to ‘fit in’. You see this a lot in schools across the world, where people change how they dress or their appearance to fit in to society’s norms.
People feel the need to change what makes them, them, to fit in or please everyone else and this has a massive impact on life throughout school for some people. In countries where this is considered normal, a lot of children have struggled with this and have found it difficult to figure out their identity until a later age.
Dimond cameo is the idea of multiple headshots of people but the difference between them would be the angles that the photographs are being taken at. They give a variety of outlooks on the photo and person been photographed. One photographer who used this technique is Townsend Duryea.
Photo montage –
The Photo montage technique is where the original photo may be overlapped or edited together by another photo , which causes contrast from each photo in the montage.
Double/multi exposures –
This technique is an illusion created by layering multiple different photos and using a blurring or contrast tool to almost morph them to each other and give the illusion of contrast.
These are the two definitions that appear when you google femininity def, and then masculinity def. To put them simply they both can be broken down into how society thinks you should be based on social expectations on your gender.
Femininity – qualities or attributes regarded as characteristic of women or girls.
Femininity – Much like masculinity, not just a woman can be feminine and in fact appearance, dress sense and attitude. Through different eras woman we considered to be weaker and strength would be an exercise of masculinity, where as in a more modern day people are more open to exploring and being comfortable enough within themselves to experiment with ideas like femininity and masculinity.
Masculinity – social expectations of being a man
Masculinity has many different definitions some consider it to be biological men who work blue collar jobs where as others would consider it to be the actions of others or a dress sense. The definition is ever changing likewise with femininity, it is something that can be influenced with many different things like there, for example what we as a modern day society consider to be masculine would differ from what was considered to be masculine. Things as material objects can be considered masculine, however people can also be considered masculine, from a man being typically masculine to a woman being masculine with ether their actions or appearance.
Identity Politics
Identity politics is politics based on a particular identity, such as race, nationality, religion, gender, sexual orientation, social background, caste, and social class.
Identity politics emerged out of the 1960s Black Civil Rights Movement, second wave feminism and gay and lesbian liberation. It was confrontational and asked questions about the kind of art that should be made and for whom in a post-colonial world where the history of art was being re-written to encompass a broader, less western-dominated perspective.
Identity politics are important when it comes to the idea of masculinity and femininity, being feminine or masculine or a mix can be a definition of a person and is something very personal to their individual personalities and lives. We are defined by our appearance as much as the idea ‘don’t judge a book by it’s cover’ but in reality we always do to an extent. However our appearance while being something so personal to ourselves, it doesn’t always become our identity sometimes it is just practicality and life gets in the way of expressing identity. The idea behind identity politics is to allow for people to express themselves and be allowed to be whoever they are or not, but no to be stopped by anyone else’s ideas or expectations.
Local Identity Politics
Jerriais is the local language which is quickly dying out however there is a local organisation that is working constantly to improve the awareness and learning of this large piece of Jersey’s history. The government is also working hard to increase the knowledge about the language. This is essential part of Jersey’s history as it actually began dying out because it was considered the farmers language and it was enforced only English was spoken as a language in schools to attempt to squash Jerriais and increase the use of English as the rest of the world was increasing the use of it as a main language. To help enforce this the government has implemented schemes like adding Jerriais into daily life and it can bee seen all around us, on buses and market signs and many other things. It has even become the name of a local clothing brand which will only increase the knowledge of the language.
Even in English, people in Jersey use some Jèrriais words like côtil, brancage, bachîn and vraic.
Lots of Jersey’s history has only been written down in Jèrriais – not in French or English.
On the bus the parishes are written in Jerriais on the side.
Influences on identity
Identity can be influenced by many things, the main ones being place, age, social status and generation. Within a place there are many different things that can change peoples perception on identity of themselves and others, for a large amount of people in Religious countries, their religion is incredibly important to them and therefore also makes up a large part of their identity. Things like personality are not always considered to be identity as its not somethings that makes you and it’s not always a constant. Culture and race are huge factors when it comes to identity as that is no something that can be changed and is a part of daily life, this is particularly present in simpatía communities, in which everyone has a different identity but it doesn’t mean they don’t have some similarities in their identity. Age is another large aspect of identity as it again relates to social expectations and standings, as while a child is expected to have a simple all loving view on the world without any worries, an adult has to fit their identify to the social expectations of having a good job, good social life etc etc, this is where identity can be forced and ‘edited’ slightly to fit to the rest of the worlds expectations on who you are and what you should be. As people we categorically and chemically want to be liked, as such this can be such a pressure on peoples shoulders they alter their identity to fit within the people around them, leading to shame about who they really are. As a community world wide we need to improve just how we seem to want people to change their identity to fit within out niche community rather than celebrate other people and things within them that actually we could appreciate not make them feel like they don’t fit in. Generational change is something that happens over the years and massively effects peoples identity, for example the 50’s had very different expectations of women than we do now, which is great as the world has become a more equal place with different people and we are more accepting of differences and instead we look to be a world in which peoples identity is individual to themselves and free from others views and inputs that could cause people to act as one they are not.
Culture Wars
‘In political science, a culture war is a type of cultural conflict between different social groups who struggle to politically impose their own ideology (beliefs, virtues, practices) upon their society.‘
In more recent society movements like Black Lives Matter has become prominent and important to achieve equality in the world we live in. It can be described as a culture war as it is essentially a battle between races to just simply accept one another as equal human beings.
Binary Opposites
A pair of related terms or concepts that are opposite in meaning, two theoretical opposites are strictly defined and set off against one another.
It can be a great way to experiment with masculinity and femininity as within themselves can be binary opposites or merge the lines between the two.
