Who are you fooling?

by feminismsinimef

How do you define what is masculine and what is feminine?, more importantly, why do you define? Are they strict categories? If yes, then what is the category for the grey area?, for somebody who is a mix of both? or fluid, away from the shackles of strict confinement? What is the purpose of these categories? What is that is achieved out of the categorization? What are the consequences of such clearly demarcated distinctions?

And fluidity is striking. The slightest overlap of the two opposites is the highlighted gender while the categorized normative is the normal and mostly, understandingly and conveniently, accepted.

Masculine is associated with men and feminine with women, which is a common knowledge. How would be the reaction of the man who has been pronounced as feminine? Does he react differently? Why, if yes?

It’s a matter of prestige and self respect. It sounds abusive. Feminine is supposed to be fragile and so on, exact opposite of what masculine is. A man has to be masculine. But, wouldn’t it be unnatural to enforce on a man the masculinity that is absent in his original nature? And since he’s been pronounced as one there must be clear evidences for doing so. What purpose is the masculinity going to serve? What is masculine? Is it that what is related to every guy that assumes masculinity or is it a pre defined term up to whose standard every guy is supposed to live. Times are changing, when physical power is not the ultimate one. Then, why is the tradition still on? Masculine has a certain body language which also falls under the category of macho, which universally belongs to men. A macho walks in a certain way, with his chest facing the world, with self assuredness. When a woman walks in such a kind of an assurance she’s quick to be termed as masculine. But, wait a second… she is a woman then why is she masculine and not feminine? And if there’s an overlap then what sense does the feminine-masculine tag make?

Or are we expected to believe in the stereotypical representations which are nothing but the appropriated binaries to serve the benefits of the powerful? The stereotyping can certainly not be true when woman is both masculine as well as feminine; man is both feminine as well as masculine, unless he suppresses and conditions himself in a certain manner to suit the accepted type.

In this case, the division between the masculine and the feminine proves dangerous for the ones who do not fall prey to the stereotypes and be the self they really are. The politics of binaries has evaded them, but they are the victims of the discrimination because the larger chunk of the population is the victim of the societal constructs.

Not to mention the burdens of masculinity and femininity that a lot of us carry forcefully to live up to the manipulated expectations.