A Discussion on Female Masculinity

Female masculinity is often deemed as a taboo subject due to the fact it defies the typical gender norms of women and their femininity. Masculinity norms in general are often only referred to in terms of physical appearance. Most people fail to recognize the other angles that masculinity can related to such as autonomy and emotions. Showing masculinity through a woman's appearance and emotions exhibits a self-empowering attitude that’s becoming more and more prevalent in today’s society. Masculinity is the overall term used to group a characteristic or trait as being most often depicted by the male gender. But overtime the lines between what’s considered to me “male” or “female” have blurred. I believe that now a day’s masculinity translates into the characteristics of strength and power.

Muscles aren’t just for men. Female athletes face criticism from the general public, mainly men, on nearly a daily basis. These women embrace their strong muscular bodies and don’t let gender determine their ability to embrace their strength and power. The reason they face the criticism from men is because the masculinity the women embody threatens their own personal masculinity. Many men still that women should be dainty, small, and fragile just because that’s what society has drilled into our heads from the minute we were born. Female athletes such as Serena Williams have been a huge advocate when it comes to women embracing their strength. She encourages women to challenge the patriarchal norms surrounding the notion of female frailty that women with more masculine strong bodies encounter on a daily basis.

Image Courtesy: Chicago Business

When you think about the “bread-winner” of the family, you most likely think of it being the husband. Historically it’s always been that way, so we are basically hard-wired to believe this is always the case. The man provides for the family while the women stay at home, cook, clean, and care for the children. As time has progressed, the number of women who provide and support their families has increased. This shift in women’s economic autonomy and power gives them the financial freedom and independence that is typically associated with the men of the family. With this does come controversy...or should I say husbands that feel threatened by a more financially dominant partner. Men even go as far as lying about how much money they make to their friends and families compared to their wives due to the fact it makes them feel less masculine.

Like being hard-wired to see the men as the financial caretaker of the family, we’re also hardwired to believe that women are the weaker sex. By this I mean not necessarily weaker in physical strength but weaker in terms of their emotions such as vulnerability and not being able to control their emotions in certain situations. This is depicted through many different platforms, whether it be the girl in the romantic comedy who constantly is overly emotional to the point where it’s too forced to the girl in the super hero movies who always needs to be “saved” by the man. This clouded image and concept of how women are supposed to always be the damsel in distress is old as time and with more and more women embracing their inner strength is slowly becoming eradicated. Years ago women were not seen as equal to their partners, it’s even still seen in today’s society regarding issues such as the wage gap between men and women. But this time it’s different. Women are showing that they are strong emotionally and are taking th initiative to stand up for matters they truly believe in.

Failing to consider all of the ways that women have transformed into a stronger sex further solidifies the concept that women are still in the same place that they were decades ago. Fifty years ago, is was unheard of for a woman to be a CEO, a politician, a body builder, or any profession that historically associated with the male gender. The progress women have made involving breaking down the gender norm stereotype of masculine characteristics being strictly for men is immense. Although so much progress has been made, there’s still so much more to accomplish in the coming years. But with strong women supporting strong women, anything is possible.

Strike Out,

Writer: Kierstin Zankl

Editor: Savannah Tindall

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