so I play a lot of video games (some would say too much) and often get inspiration from them.
I was playing an MMO, one where my girl was running around in massive, heavy sci-fi iron man-styled armor with a giant laser minigun and rockets and all sorts of ordinance.
And I also rp scenes in my head, or write out what my character is doing and why and all that.
Somewhere along the line I found myself asking: "If I wrote this as a story, how would it address the concept of 'feminine'?"
When we want our characters to 'embrace womanhood' in a story, it involves nails, salons, hair, clothes, makeup, perfume, high heels. All the trappings of a female.
Yet, crossdressers who firmly identify as male can wear these, hell some men wear them for kicks and for bets. They're certainly not crossdressers or transgendered in any way.
So...what is the essence of being feminine? And does a character who lounges around, wears a giant suit of armor and blows people away with a humongous gun still fit that idea?
Is there more to this concept than I think or am I just over analyzing?
Comments
feminine
...two popular characters on here, Lyssa Kordonay and Maiha Nakatoma, fit that badass female persona perfectly yet are feminine as they come.
Being tough and willing to fight and kill aren't going against being feminine, the deadliest creatures in nature are the female of the species so a female who is capable of ripping you to shreds is not masculine or less feminine- it's completely within nature.
I'm told STFU more times in a day than most people get told in a lifetime
Various Things
>> it involves nails, salons, hair, clothes, makeup, perfume, high heels <<
No offense, but all these are surface/external items dictated by society. In upper class Europe 300 or so years ago, men wore high heels, stockings, perfume, makeup and very extravagant wigs. At present or recently in some African tribes men still wear makeup and much more decorative items then the women.
Thru history and before, some women were usually fighting with the men, crossdressed or not. Some of these may have had F2M spirits, but some GGs and Tgals still wish to be warriors and most modern societies allow them. There are also women cops, MMA and ice hockey players, etc.
In the animal world there might be huge differences in size between sexes and some males carry eggs on the back and/or protect the young. In our cousins, the apes, gibbons have little sexually dimorphism and many be equally dangerous (but they'd like to escape) protecting young or in general. I'm not sure about Bonobos; the males are larger, but female pairs stick together, dominate males and might be more effective fighting together, or the males might be more important fighting off predators.
With chimps and gorillas the males are considerably larger and are more aggressive in most situations. Gorillas attacked by predator(s), the silverback would be most likely to get between it and the females and young and kill or drive it/them away.
Hugs and Bright Blessings,
Renee
Well
It depends what you mean. What is seen as stereotypically feminine is generally embodied by femmes. But what is seen as female is an entirely different thing. Female has no definition other than if you are then you are female. Women can be fighters, oppressors, oppressed, ballet dancers, literally anything, same with men and same with non-binary/agender ect.
Gender stereotypes exist to entrap people in the belief that they must act/dress/behave a certain way in order to power the cis sexist machine that runs this world.
I find it's easier to embody a female character as instead of a set of stereotypes, but as a person. Like for me for example, I'm a woman who not only enjoys horror stories and violent movies/video games. I also love wearing sweet lolita, ribbons, hair things, lace, and doing my nails when I get time. I love cuddling my stuffed animals, and giggling and cutting things down with a huge sword in a video game (when I'm a bunny that is, when I'm a kitty I prefer magick related stuff or guns *_*)
I'm a girly girl, but I also like what I like and I don't let my label of girly girl dictate to me who and what I am.
Basically it's about making a female character that is both realistic, and still herself.
Like if you've got a girl char who is a walking stereotype it's a little less believeable if it's not shown that she was essentially forced into those stereotypes. (like all girls/women are, but that doesn't mean you cant enjoy them just recognize how they could be oppressive) Maybe she'll start off a walking stereotype but then as she begins to find herself, some of those stereotypes (but not all) will fade away leaving a fully human character able to relate to many different humans.
That's what I think anyway.
I know who I am, I am me, and I like me ^^
Transgender, Gamer, Little, Princess, Therian and proud :D
What is Feminine?
We each have our own version of it.
For me, generally women are more supportive and cooperative with each other than men are, at least that has been my own experience. When talking with men, it is always about whose truck, gun or fish is the best; whose team is the best and all that to the point that I get sick of it. When women talk about their favorite teams, it is about who wins, whose uniform is nice, what guy is hot, and if they are talking about women's teams, it is about a team member's hair color, or length, or if someone is bitchy.
Women have to use strategy and stealth, but men use brute force.
Generally, women do not pass mirrors, being so driven to be perfect. A woman will easily take an hour to dress, even for shopping, and most guys just throw some stuff on taking about 10 minutes. (I am not talking about metro males here)
Women look at a man for his potential to be a good mate, protective, fair, loving, and sometimes even dominant. When a man looks at a woman, he sees either their breasts or butt first and then after about 10 seconds he wants her to be friendly to him.
I've only been living full time as a female for about 12 years, but the rest of my life I had to fight off being too feminine. Now it is my right.
Gwen