Masculine/Feminine

Eeenteresting! I'm terrible at this type of thing, but I want to listen in......

And, I think that looking at cultural influences might be kind of fun, in and of itself.

Yeah LittleK; I think it would be fun to look at the cultural influences as well.
Maybe I could learn something.
:wink:

What truly brought this to light for me was, of all things, Japanese mangas


The masculine characters are not all "beef" or "macho". They usually have an element of grace; which I have typically thought of as a feminine feature. Actually, a lot of the male characters in manga struck me as somewhat girly. Just goes to show !

Anyways, I'd be interested to hear what others think.

the the male magna characters still save the day, and the girl.

I'd say masculine has strong, muscular, leading charactersistics. Feminine must be caring and gentle and emotional. Those are basically stereotypes of "men" and "women", but that might be what most people consider masculine and feminine.

Well I can't speak for what those in the gay community, male or female, find attractive in each other or whether it approximates what heterosexuals find attractive.

It is all a combination of physique, dress, choice of aftershave or perfume, the way a person carries himself/herself, a walk, a smile, eye contact....so many factors.

In the heterosexual world, I think of masculine as those traits that make a woman's heart go pitter pat. And feminine is what attracts the masculine types to a woman's side. It has to do with sex appeal, of course, but that isn't all of it by any means.

So what is it exactly?

Damned if I know.

Interesting!

And very interesting that you noticed it with manga.

I was just at the Japanese bookstore the other day because I always send my manga-junkie nephew Japanese comics for his birthday.

One of the comics I bought - the small, expensive one ($26 for a comic book!?) has beautiful if somewhat gorey and graphic illustrations -- the men are certainly masculine and the women are definately feminine - not only in physique but in manner (and I'm just guessing because I don't read Japanese so I'm guessing by the illustrations).

The other comic, the big, "inexpensive" ($7.50 for a comic!?) has a more feminine appearing hero.

Do you think the martial arts aspect might influence these perceptions of masculine and feminine? Where lithe and flexible are more akin to strength than bulk?

Okay. I'm going to have to go back to browse at Kinokuniya now that I've read your question.......

it s all due to our cultural and behavioral barriers ... see, if u allow men to wear makeu p (as in few cultures or tribes) , u will find no difference .. from the barbarian age masculine has changed its nature and tends toward so called femm.. In older days shaving of chest hairs are not common in male but now days its common ...

so it all depends , we are used of considering something girlish , that is only our s_xuallity that makes up think so ... no doubt any fancy colored frilled dress is called girlish , but it will also suit a male .. no doubt...

our culture has separated these things ,, still in few tribes .. there is virtually no difference in mas fem , way of living and dressing ( they are live n|_|de ;-) )

... Just goes to show that you are reading Shojo or Josei manga, a genre primarily written for a female audience. Shonen manga portrays less characters who are drawn in bishounen (pretty-boy) style.

Not that your initial question wasn't valid or interesting, I just thought I'd adress the anime issue first.

Anyway, there are certain traits which are universal signs of femininity regardless of cultural values. These traits are the hormonal indicators of female fertility, including an absence of facial hair, pointy chin, high cheekbones, breasts, child-bearing hips and long legs. While cultural values can shift these slightly in certain directions these basic traits are coded into us at a genetic level and are pretty universal.

Likewise there are certain traits of masculinity which are rather universal. Wide shoulders, height, deep voice, flat chin, etc.

However in addition to these genetic values there are also a vast variety of cultural attitudes which vary wildly between different cultures.

Generally speaking the same as the opposite heterosexual gender with a larger tolerance (or even desire) for traits of the other gender. For example a gay man will find another man attractive for the same reasons as a straight female would, however with a larger tolerance for feminine features than females generally apply.

Thanks for the manga lesson. I'm rather ignorant concerning manga.

So basically: you are saying that it comes down to biology?

That what it always seems to come down to. Simply who has the indicators of equipment to either birth a child or not. Funny. Sort of.

Actually I think it runs deeper than that. A man loves his 'den' and even goes to some lengths to create it, but his 'den' is his escape place, his safe place. It is somewhere the bigger predators can't get at him and he can relax there. His instinct, however, is to leave the den and go hunting and gathering and he maybe instinctively knows this to be his mission. Thus he is the physically more muscular, stronger, faster, has greater endurance, and he is satisfied and fulfilled when he brings home some edible thing. Perhaps this is after all what masculine is.

The woman however I think does not 'den'. She 'nests'. Hers is a place to live, not escape or retreat. In it is the place to store those things and do those things of the necessity of life. So she chews the blubber and sews together the furs and cooks the wild beast that he brings her and delights in her children.

There is that eternal problem though of who has to skin and gut the dead beastie. I think woman have evolved nicely on that point.

Several other points too.

Oh well, it was a good theory.

Maculinity is the set of attributes attached to the male
femininity to the female

men and women are similar and different purely on a physiological basis- as humans.