Are there such things as "femininity" and "masculinity" or are they just imaginary things humans made up?

submitted by Nohope from (self.GenderCritical)

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[–]Realwoman 1 insightful - 2 fun1 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 2 fun -  (3 children)

Humans are a sexually dimorphic species, so there are actual differences between men and women related to reproduction, as well as attracting the opposite sex. That's why muscles on a man are considered masculine and attractive, as well as round hips on a woman. The way most people use makeup is by increasing contrast on the face - which makes the face more feminine looking - see here https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Gender-illusion-by-Richard-Russell-The-same-face-appears-female-left-when-the-eyes-and_fig11_224946627

Also, men are more aggressive and more prone to violence, which is well established.

Now, societies have taken those differences and amplified them. Gender roles were created. What is considered masculine and feminine is very different in different cultures, especially when it comes to things like clothing or hair styles. Skirts for example are considered feminine in most of the the west but they're masculine in Scotland. Long hair is not universally considered feminine at all.

[–]Nohope[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

Do you then believe "gender" ("femininity" and "masculinity") exists and is biological instead of a social construct? I thought GCs believe gender is not biological and is actually a social construct even if there are differences between the hair, skin, bones, etc of males and females

I have only heard transmedicalists argue gender is biological and is not a social construct, like Blaire White argues gender is biological because of the differences in hair, body, bones, etc of males and females and he says there are male and female brains because he's a transmedicalist; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9WqfBDjRF8

At the end he calls "feminine" men and "masculine" women "defects"

[–]Realwoman 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

I definitely don't agree with trans anything. I find this article very informative:

https://quillette.com/2019/09/24/no-one-is-born-in-the-wrong-body/

When people talk about masculinity and femininity, they often talk about appearance, you yourself mentioned makeup and clothes, as well as muscles. There's a good reason why physically strong men with a lot of muscles are considered masculine - this is part of make secondary sexual characteristics. Also why men should not be allowed to participate in women's sports.

I have not seen any evidence for male and female brains, so I don't believe that's a thing. I like what this article had to say on the matter, warning, it's long but really good:

https://theelectricagora.com/2020/06/02/on-sex-and-gender-identity-perspectives-from-biology-neuroscience-and-philosophy/

There are differences between men and women, both physical and non physical but things like personality are more of a spectrum and many, many people differ from the "standard" for their sex. I think it's both nature and nurture, both biological and social. As for what is considered feminine and masculine when it comes to behavior, I already said that a lot of it varies by culture a lot and it's not universal, except for some clear examples of men being more aggressive and prone to violence and women being the ones taking care of children. But beyond that, it's extremely subjective.

[–]CleverNickName 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Wow, that first article is so damn good. Simple, straightforward description of reality, including our culture's failure to recognize how normal it is to display "sex-atypical" behaviour as they phrased it.