When I was in middle school, I thought that pink defined everything I had to steer clear of.
When I was in middle school, I thought that pink defined everything I had to steer clear of. I also never even considered putting on makeup, pretended to hate wearing dresses, never painted my nails, and denied my deep love of shopping.
I had bought into this idea that being feminine was somehow inferior to being masculine, at least subconsciously, and I let it show in my choices. This is the byproduct of a society that teaches girls that they are inherently below men.
Femmephobia is often defined within the feminist community as “the fear of the feminine.” It means that people shun what is typically seen as female. The underlying meaning of this thought process is that femininity is less than masculinity. It implies that in order to be equal, women must act like men. It implies that women are less than men.
According to an article from Smithsonian Magazine, the colors pink and blue weren't established for girls and boys, respectively, until the 1940s. In fact, for a period of time before this, pink was considered the color for boys to wear, and blue for female children. Before colors had become popular, children had gender-neutral clothing, such as white dresses. Gender expression is constantly changing and dictating what “men do” and what “women do.” But we still don't see how arbitrary it is.
A lot of people consider this a non-issue. But gender roles and the policing of them still affect how women feel about themselves and the way that they can dress. And while we are trying to move away from a society that is used to dictating what women can and cannot do, telling them that they cannot be too feminine is another way of policing female bodies and expression. It's not the way to go.
Women of all types have felt this kind of pressure from society and from other women. A student once told me that she feels this way “all the time.” Another expressed that she used to feel afraid of femininity when she was younger, but has grown to be more confident in herself, no matter how she looks. The idea even affects men, who seem to be constantly conscious of the color pink as though it will brand them a “sissy,” or other such words invalidating their manliness, because femininity is considered lesser than by our culture.
We need to stop classifying ourselves in one category or another, “feminine” or “masculine.” At the end of the day, they're social constructs.
Why are we so afraid of being feminine?
Shouldn't we, as women, accept one another for who we are, particularly in a world that never has?
Bailey Breece is junior studying English and German. Email her at bb463711@ohio.edu
