Erh ner err yer fermernern?
Well, punk, are ya?
I’ll start. No, and I don’t want to be, and I’ve never wanted to be. (So I must be trans, right? No.)
No, I forget “daintiness” at all times. What a revolting word.
There is nothing I can wear and still be girlish, nor do I want to. I don’t wear slacks or shorts, I wear jeans or (inside) sweat pants. I don’t wear them girlishly, I just wear them.
What does “dressing for an evening date” mean? What are “mannish suits”?
I don’t think about white gloves or white collars at all.
No. I hate perfume and have no jewelry.
No. I sprawl whenever I feel like it.
No. I stride like a fucking kangaroo.
No. I use my voice to argue pugnaciously or to sing “Bad Moon Rising.” Deal with it.
1) Bah ha ha ha ha ha … No.
2) A girl is girlish regardless of her attire. A boy is boyish regardless of his attire. They are these things in virtue of their nature, not as a result of their preferred tailor.
3) Between COVID and social anxiety disorder, I can’t say that I’ve been on a date recently, so thank you for bringing that up. I’m triggered. Where’s my safe space? But who would wear a suit for a date, anyway?
4) Yes. Duh. What variety of uncouth riffraff do you take me for?
5) One does want a hint of color.
6) I try. An ergonomic chair helps a lot.
7) You probably haven’t even seen what you describe. I’ve only known one person whose walking gait had a dance-like spring, and he was a world-class gymnast. My attempt is a pale imitation.
8) Did I mention SAD? Thank you ever so much for making me focus even more unhealthily on self-monitoring during social interactions! You’re magnificently helpful.
Hm, either five or six yes-like answers out of eight. That’s basically in line with my results on those ridiculous “what’s your gender” tests: usually some kind of balanced mix of feminine and masculine.
Let’s see. I wear earrings, but only to work. I don’t go on dates because I don’t think it would be nice to my husband. I’m allergic to perfume. I mostly stride, but occasionally slouch, and when I’m wearing waders and walking in a wetland, I sort of schlup. White gloves? With all the dust around here? What a fruitless endeavor. As for my voice – I have a teacher voice, except since having pneumonia I have sort of a frog voice. Is it possible to be feminine and a frog at the same time?
Ahem … I speak Mid-Century Feminine. “Do you remember daintiness, at all times?” translates to “When you’ve got your period, do you try not to let it get all sloppy and smelly?” References to concerns about “daintiness” were usually an oblique way of getting women to buy disposable pads and powders made to put on the pads. The alternative was rinsing out cloths on a regular basis.
When I was a girl, preteen, & teen I loved this kind of stuff, devouring womanly advice and wholesome teenage girl romances which were often about 10 – 50 years out of date, and occasionally from the Edwardian or Victorian eras. I dressed in jeans & tshirts, slouched, and wasn’t remotely popular: this was a kind of secret life. Elegant, simple, focused, pleasant, and not entirely unobtainable, since most of this literature involved a kind and comfortable girl with “pep” winning the boy from the overdressed, stuck up sophisticate. Small dreams.
I discovered feminism & Ms Magazine as an older teen in the 70’s, and while I heaped scorn on the Cater-to-the-Partiarchy Femininity mindset, I was never entirely convinced it was entirely worthless. The advice to wear white gloves was usually accompanied by advice to be kind and thoughtful to others — and to look for that in a man. Not really wrong; look for that in everyone. Just don’t expect it.
And I still sprawl whenever I feel like it, too.
Heh yes I did figure the “daintiness” bit was WATCH OUT DON’T LET ANYBODY KNOW YOU HAVE GROSS CHUNKY BLOOD WITH CHUNKS IN IT OOZING OUT OF YOU DID I MENTION CHUNKS but I decided to play dumb about that ridiculous word instead.
Speaking of which, those of you who are on Twitter, if you’re not following Nomcebo Mkhaliphi I recommend her.
I’m sure glad I was around to see second wave feminism happen. That Victorian era revival crap from the 50’s is ridiculous. Women aren’t fragile, painted, thin glass ornaments. Give me a gal who could change the oil in her car if she wanted to, play frisbee with the dog, and most importantly, tell me what she thinks about things any old day.
Now THAT’S “gender.”
Exactly. Exhibit #1 when people ask about sex v gender.
It’s also stereotyping. I wear jeans, but I don’t think wearing a kilt would make me any less male, in fact it could draw attention to the fact. :P
I’m slowly realizing how difficult it is to point out sexism without sounding sexist. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
It was a concerted effort to put women back in the box they’d been able to escape during the war, when so many men were on the continent, fighting one another, that there would have been a labour shortage even without increased production of vehicles and armaments. Women basically took over all the jobs, dressed in overalls, no make-up (what’s the point, when your face is going to get covered in oil anyway?), nails and hair cut short; there’s no place for femininity in an arms factory, or under a tractor, or putting wings on a plane which is likely to be shot down within days of leaving the hangar.
When the men came back from war, the government was faced with two choices: let the women carry on working, and persuade men who had just spent the best part of a decade being as masculine as it is possible to be that they should become house-husbands; or tell the women ‘Thanks for your hard work! Have a break! You’ve earned it!” and give the men their old jobs back.
When the women naturally hated being treated as dolls again, there was a massive propaganda effort, through magazines, TV and cinemas, to persuade them that being competent, well-paid, independent human beings, wearing comfortable clothing, wasn’t what they really wanted, but that they really longed to be pretty, and submissive, and helpless.
I have a pink shirt which I am, as it happens, wearing at this moment. I don’t think it makes me look noticeably girlish or womanly. Maybe I should work on my head tilt. Then I can compete in women’s swimming races (though I’m now a bit old for that).
Athel @11 You could identify as being a teenager also? I hear that adds tons of speed and stamina. :D