babys first gender politics post but to say ‘women can express masculinity’ and imply they aren’t stigmatized for it in the same way a man would be if he expressed femininity is such a dumb take
ok so you see a lot of posts on here talking about how masculinity is encouraged in girls and femininity is dissuaded in boys especially with regards to lgbt discourses and whilst the latter is fairly agreeable i feel there’s a lot of nuance in the former statement like. sure. a girl can wear trousers whereas a boy wearing a skirt would get odd looks outside of all but the most liberal cities yet you have to understand the extent to which women can perform masculinity is intrinsically linked to heterosexuality under patriarchy.
women can’t wear flannel without it being marketed as ‘boyfriend flannel’ and being like four sizes too big, so as to ensure the demure image of femininity is ever-present. girls can get their hair cut short, sure, but it has to be a pixie cut, something feminine, something chic, no messy buzzcuts or quiffs or anything; that would be too much too threatening to men, too…butch. the ways in which women can express their ‘masculinity’ through clothing and presentation really is just a watered down version of heterosexual femininity.
like this is obviously just in terms of clothing but when u factor in gender identity and sexuality and attitude and like. everything else that makes u a human being it kinda becomes clear that women cannot like…express their masculinity without any sort of stigma really
