It seems like in recent years, I’ve noticed a growing trend of society, particularly in this generation, looking down on or outright vilifying femininity. Whether it’s being labeled as “weak,” “outdated,” or “performative,” femininity is often dismissed or misunderstood.
But why?
There’s nothing wrong with embracing femininity. Being feminine doesn’t equate to lacking strength, intelligence, or independence. It’s simply another way of expressing oneself, and it holds just as much value as any other trait.
Femininity is often about nurturing, creativity, elegance, and emotional intelligence. These qualities are not just valid—they’re necessary for balance in any society. Unfortunately, in an era where hyper-individualism and aggression are often glorified, softer and more traditional traits are sometimes seen as less desirable or even shameful.
To me, femininity isn’t a sign of weakness; it’s a choice and a celebration of self. It takes strength to embrace who you are unapologetically, especially when the world tries to diminish you for it.
What are your thoughts? Why do you think society has such a complicated relationship with femininity? And how can we push back against this narrative to reclaim and celebrate it?
Let’s have an honest and open discussion—whether you agree or disagree!
My world view may be a bit bleak but here goes:
In my opinion people who are comfortable will do anything to retain the status quo. Since patriarchal figures have pretty much dominated society for thousands of years, a strong feminine counterpart with a clear definition of personality traits and positive influences will upset the balance they have created.
So what I’m saying is: the ones that are assigning all kinds of negativity to femininity are the ones who suffer from its uprising.
To me personally, this is mostly noticeable through the way the world around me expects me to behave and treats me accordingly. For your context: I am a straight white male from the 90s from western Europe. We are more or less trained to surpress anything to do with sentiment, empathy, sympathy and just generally putting the needs of others before your own.
Like I stated before, this is rooted so deeply into our society that you are the odd one out if you don’t conform. It wasn’t until I went to college that I was exposed to different ways of thinking and realized that there was nothing wrong with me, it was just society’s way of attempting to maintain its status quo by reprogramming me from the get-go.
So what can we do? Well I think change is already happening but it will take a lot of time. The only thing we as individuals can do is identify toxic patterns and attempt to empathize more with people whose views and, indeed, entire world differs from our own.