How do women (and men) define femininity?

[ForrestGump]

From another thread.....

Go for it, dudettes and dudes, but please let's stay civilized (or as close as we can get to that).

[TlalocW]

1. I would say...

Chantily lace
And a pretty face
And a pony tail Hangin' down

A wiggle in her walk
And a giggle in her talk
Makes the world go round

Ain't nothin' like a big eyed girl
To make me act so funny
Make me spend my money
Make me feel real loose
Like a long necked goose

Oh, baby... That's what I like.

TlalocW

[ForrestGump]

5. You forgot the best part!

Hello, baaaaaaaaaaaaaabbbbbby!

[catpower2000]

2. Feminine:

Main Entry: 1fem·i·nine
Pronunciation: 'fe-m&-n&n
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French feminin, from Latin femininus, from femina woman; akin to Old English delu nipple, Latin filius son, felix, fetus, & fecundus fruitful, felare to suck, Greek thElE nipple
Date: 14th century

1 : FEMALE 1a
2 : characteristic of or appropriate or unique to women
3 : of, relating to, or constituting the gender that ordinarily includes most words or grammatical forms referring to females <a feminine noun>
4 a : being an unstressed and usually hypermetric final syllable <feminine ending> b of rhyme : having an unstressed final syllable c : having the final chord occurring on a weak beat <music in feminine cadences>

What more is there to say?

Cat

[ForrestGump]

4. You and your dictionary

:P

Wish I was unstressed and usually hypermetric....

[catpower2000]

7. Heh, but you know why?

Because there ARE no "masculine" traits. Either they are stereotypically male in a NEGATIVE sense-- macho or sexist-- or they are traits that would be desirable for BOTH sexes--like strength, responsibility, etc.

I can't think of a desirable trait that is EXCUSIVELY male, can you?

Cat

[ForrestGump]

9. Nope

Unless you're talking physiology.

And perhaps the other differences are more a matter of degree, with males and females tending to cluster together across some continuum of that trait.

Even the undesirable traits, perhaps - do 'macho and sexist' have female-associated counterparts? Maybe, to borrow from the realm of stereotype, 'prissy and bitchy.' (I hasten to add that I've known few truly prissy women and have known a few prissy men, who could alternately be said to rate a negative on the macho scale; 'bitchiness' also seems to cross gender lines)

[cally]

10. I can't think of a desirable feminine trait that

doesn't occur in both sexes. I also can't think of masculine traits that many women don't have. I think we are more similar than different and that most of us have what the culture defines as male and female traits.

[cally]

3. I think feminine women

are strong, nurturing, compassionate, and intelligent. Obviously, any woman is feminine but that is what I think of when imagine feminine women.

[JitterbugPerfume]

6. why should we define it

We just ARE

[Maple]

8. You're born female, that's it

end of story.

All else is cultural bias.