Masculine/Feminine

[Sweetie]

What are some characteristics that you find masculine or feminine? I can't make a list right now, for some reason. The only thing that comes to mind at present is:

Feminine - nurturing, mind primarily focused on relationships, takes things to heart, almost everything she does is for a cause as if everything were a moral cause.

[Johnny Pneumatic]

masculine: XY chromosomes, penis, body hair and worthless niples.
feminine: XX chromosomes, vagina, milk producing spheroidal breasts, less body hair than a man generally.

[dave_a]

Originally Posted by SkepticJ

worthless niples.

Hmmm, that is an oddity isn't it? Evolutionary mistake, indication that males were able to breast feed in the past, or indication that men are evolving to be able to bear children? Hmmm... now that would definitely redefine what it means to be a man in certain respects

[Sweetie]

Masculine - to feel like the world owes you sex. Let's not forget masturbation jokes ie: a morbid interest in bodily fluids and the like. Man, those start going and I start running, my poor virgin ears! No, it's more like guys, see I want to be able to continue to enjoy sex or be able to think of men and sex in sensual exciting terms.

I don't mean bodily characteristics. Even if you're talking to someone online who didn't identify their gender, what characteristics would strike you as masculine or feminine, to lead you to think one or the other? Or even, what would a man do that you might perceive to be "off" which might make you think that he is effeminate and visa-versa for females.

[livius drusus]

Originally Posted by SkepticJ

masculine: XY chromosomes, penis, body hair and worthless niples.
feminine: XX chromosomes, vagina, milk producing spheroidal breasts, less body hair than a man generally.

That's male and female, not masculine and feminine. Cultural definitions of masculinity and femininity can be and are regularly applied to people of both sexes or even to the inanimate.

I find it difficult to think of charcateristics that I actually consider masculine and feminine as opposed to characteristics are culturally defined notions of the masculine and feminine. The latter are easier to find - there's the Barbi/Rambo basic set, the men are from Mars women are from Venus versions - but in terms of my own opinions on the matter, I can't currently scare up any characteristics that I feel are intrinsically female or male.

I generally assume people online are male, for some reason, and have encountered that assumption about me many a time, so it's even harder for me to say what's masculine and feminine in a written medium.

[Sweetie]

Yeah, I am finding it difficult to really do so however I know that I do it all the time, assume male or female according to some certain wordings, meanings, the way some think, what one or the other is more likely to say or feel, some characteristics that seem to shine through.

[Sweetie]

Even the way people hold themselves and their mannerisms can be classified masculine or feminine, at what point they lost control and what they lost control over. These things are different for each person not necessarily male or female, but at the same time, overall the general impression and assumption is one or the other. Women can have what some take to be masculine characteristics without losing one iota of their femininity and the same is true the opposite for men, but trying to list or name at what point it becomes one or the other is suprisingly difficult although I know for myself that I recognize/name such things all the time, without even necessarily thinking it, but that's just the idea or impression one gets.

[dave_a]

I am not sure what it means, but I generally regard cats as females regardless of their gender and dogs as males regardless of their actual gender. The exception are those pocket poodle type dogs like Paris Hilton puts in her purse. Those I consider cats and thus female.

No idea what this means as I have never examined my tendency to do this.

Online when I do not know a person's gender I usually assume a person who is aggressive or obnoxious or boisterous male and those who are concilatory or mild mannered as female. I am wrong quite often on this, but when I have no way of positively identifying the gender my mind just does these things.

So I suppose all the above means I view masculinity as agressive/assertive/bold/obnoxious/physical and femininity as soft, concilatory, polite, warm.

[Sonnet]

Originally Posted by livius drusus

I generally assume people online are male, for some reason, and have encountered that assumption about me many a time, so it's even harder for me to say what's masculine and feminine in a written medium.

Well, your username is specifically masculine, so it's confusing. I would still marry you, though, now that I know the truth.

[Adora]

Originally Posted by SkepticJ

masculine: XY chromosomes, penis, body hair and worthless niples.
feminine: XX chromosomes, vagina, milk producing spheroidal breasts, less body hair than a man generally.

They're definers of biological sex, not gender (which is what masculine/feminine traits denote). And even they are changing sometimes. I have more body hair than your average Asian male. In fact, most Asian males probably have less body hair than the Average American Females. Many European women have lots of bodyhair. And men's breasts have been known to produce milk under the right circumstances. And then there's the issues of intersex infants which opens up a whole other kettle of fish.

Anyway, my 2 cents. For Western (and many other) societies... not all mind you.

Feminine: softness, mutability, nuturing, verbose communication (at least, it is perceived, moreso than men), lack of physical strength, non-agressiveness or assertiveness, "being emotional" *rolls eyes*, definition of self through consumerism moreso than men, traditionally mutation of the physical form through material additions- makeup, pusher-round underwear, jewelery, clothes etc.

Masculine: well, obviously, aggressiveness, competition with other males in business and social life, economic independence, physical form defined by the actual biology of the male (ie- lack of jewelry, makeup, clothes that change the bodyshape etc), heh- wearing fashion trends started by gay men (I swear, every single male fashion trend since the industrial revolution has been started by gay men), having a "family", being physically strong and in Australia sporty, a valuing of knowledge as power rather than knowledge being a shared facet of society, er, that's all I can think of (only got up a few minutes ago X_X).

Of course, like I said, this isn't universal. There are societies where traits traditionally considered "feminine" in the West are universally constructed in both males and females. On the flipside, there have been societies where traits we traditionally consider "masculine" have been constructed in both females and males. Most of what we understand as this only formed properly in society since about the Industrial Revolution and Victorian England and then was exported to the rest of the world through the Empire- including countries not part of the Empire such as Japan through trade and cultural influence.

I still find it utterly stupid that people think my username is a male's though. I mean, seriously, DUH!

[JoeP]

Originally Posted by dantonac

I am not sure what it means, but I generally regard cats as females regardless of their gender and dogs as males regardless of their actual gender. The exception are those pocket poodle type dogs like Paris Hilton puts in her purse. Those I consider cats and thus female.

No idea what this means as I have never examined my tendency to do this.

That's a well-known (or well-worn) tendency and the source of many fine jokes. After all, dogs sniff your crotch. Cats have inscrutable expressions, and expect you to know what "meow" means, even though it means different things in different circumstances.

[viscousmemories]

I never really thought about that dog/cat thing, but I'm the same way.

When I do make assumptions about people I meet online (which I actually diligently avoid) I tend to default to male. Isn't that supported by the statistics, though? I mean at one point people on the 'net were overwhelmingly male. Is that not still true?

[JoeP]

Originally Posted by Sweetie

Even if you're talking to someone online who didn't identify their gender, what characteristics would strike you as masculine or feminine, to lead you to think one or the other? Or even, what would a man do that you might perceive to be "off" which might make you think that he is effeminate and visa-versa for females.

It's hard to think of anything definitive. But without claiming these are "tests" for is-this-person-female ('cos that's always the game isn't it?), I'd associate online behaviours like this:

aggression - masculine
sensing criticism where there is no obvious criticism - feminine

crude jokes about sex - masculine
but, even cruder jokes about sex - feminine

saying what you think without thinking how it will affect the other - masculine
worrying about what you say, or even not saying anything at all, in case - feminine

offering solutions to others' personal problems without any facts - masculine
being caring and sensitive to others' personal problems to the point of suffering dysfunctionally with them - feminine (OK, I am getting a bit extreme here and will stop)

Hmm. Looking at any of these I think there are many cases on this board where males display feminine behaviour and vice versa.

producing lists like this - masculine
reading them and sighing - feminine

[JoeP]

Originally Posted by viscousmemories

I never really thought about that dog/cat thing, but I'm the same way.

When I do make assumptions about people I meet online (which I actually diligently avoid) I tend to default to male. Isn't that supported by the statistics, though? I mean at one point people on the 'net were overwhelmingly male. Is that not still true?

Let's see ... I'm overwhelmingly male ... guess you're right.

Seer-iously, I've done the same. I've been surprised when people with feminine avatars or screen names (I was going to say handle but that called up all the wrong images) turn out to be male, and vice versa, but I have sometimes assumed people to be male when avatar/name give no clue. I'm trying to think of a case where I assumed the other way.

[FormerFundie2004]

Originally Posted by SkepticJ

masculine: XY chromosomes, penis, body hair and worthless niples.
feminine: XX chromosomes, vagina, milk producing spheroidal breasts, less body hair than a man generally.

Yup, that's about it.

[Desert Dweller]

Feminine: Oh darling that's so horrible!
Masculine: You stupid bastard, you won't do that again will yr.

Femine: Oh look at those colours. aren't they beautiful?
Masculine: What colours?

Feminine: I've got a blue car with pink trim
Masculine: I've got a V8 with loads of grunt.

Feminine: I've got nothing to do so I'll clean the windows
Masculine: I've gotr nothing to do...throw us another beer luv.

Feminine: eeewwwww that's disgusting.
Masculline: Shit, what a dag!

Feminine: I'd like bigger boobs, longer hair, fuller lips.
Masculine: I'd like bigger boobs, longer hari, fuller lips,

Feminine: Would you like to come in for a coffee?
Masculine: D'yr wanna root?

Feminine: I think people ought to mind their language in public
Masculine: Fuck yeah.

Feminine: I prefer matching nickers and bra.
Masculine: I like your matching nickers and bra

Feminine: But I want to feel special, and adored.
Masculine: I'm here aren't I?

Feminine: I got so wet I nearly slippped off the stool
Masculine: I got such a boner, I split my pants.

Feminine: Well....thre's so many things I'd like
Masculine: There's only one thing I want.

Feminine: I love you so much
Masculine: Wanna come bowlling?

[JoeP]

A woman wants one man to satisfy all her needs.

A man wants every woman to satisfy his one need.

[Dingfod]

Originally Posted by JoeP

A woman wants one man to satisfy all her needs.

A man wants every woman to satisfy his one need.

You are generalizing. I only need pictures of a number of certain women to satisfy my one need. heh