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.