There are many definitions of gender in society today, and there are many reasons for these different definitions. To every person, gender may have a different meaning depending on personal experiences or how they choose to view it. I tend to lean towards the more typical definition of gender.
I see gender as a way of categorizing people by their actions and physical appearance. Gender is an issue in today’s society and has been for many years. Discussions about gender often include issues such as whether women can do the same jobs as men or whether women are as smart as men. In my opinion, anyone can do anything they set their minds to, regardless of their gender.
It is obvious that men and women are different physically, but there is no scientific evidence that says men are smarter or superior to women in any way. The image of women being inferior is slowly disappearing and will hopefully someday be non-existent. I am a sensitive person, and people may attribute that to me being female, but in reality, it doesn’t have to be that way. People are branded as feminine or masculine by their actions, emotions, and physical traits. I find myself defining gender along with society.
I have stated many times that women bodybuilders have very masculine builds. I have also made similar comments about the way society stereotypes femininity and masculinity. However, I have never considered what it would be like if women were typically very muscular like bodybuilders. Would bodybuilding men then be considered very feminine looking”? Society stereotypes people in this way as a means of categorizing and defining them.
By saying a woman is masculine, it is insinuating that her physical build is not that of the typical” female. Society’s typical female is definitely evolving and has come a long way, but still has a long way to go. To me, femininity is a way to state that a female is very old-fashioned. If someone said to me, “She looks so girly,” my first thought would be that the girl in question is wearing a little pink dress with lace or something frilly. I think this because I don’t think of a modern woman when someone refers to someone as feminine.
I usually think of femininity as a way to describe how someone is dressed or how they are behaving. In my opinion, a very feminine person would be reserved with old-fashioned morals. I may refer to someone with that description as girly.” Therefore, if someone called me a “girly” person, I wouldn’t take it as a compliment because it isn’t the ideal definition for a woman in the new millennium.
As a woman, I see this as a step in the right direction. It shows how much we have grown throughout history. Women have become more important in society, and we can now say that being weak and quiet is a stereotype of the past. We should be proud to say that we are changing with the times, rather than being insulted when we are associated with the females of the past. On the contrary, men are proud of how they were the rulers” of the house and decision-makers in the community.
Therefore, being considered masculine is generally not taken offensively by men. I view masculinity as a dominant and strong trait, both physically and emotionally. Physical traits often included in society’s brand of masculinity” are largeness, power, and muscularity. Seeing someone as masculine in my mind does not insinuate anything negative about that person, although it is not uncommon for people to associate being masculine with being rowdy or unruly.
For the most part, masculinity and femininity are used to describe physical attributes rather than anything else. Unlike in the past, where there used to be set standards for how a woman could act and look, and for how males could act and look, we are now setting new standards. Who knows what femininity and masculinity will be defined as in the future? Culture plays a large role in the definitions of masculinity and femininity as well. Different cultures have set different standards and roles.
