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Post by riotgrrl on Mar 8, 2006 21:45:34 GMT -5
femme queerness is a sustained gender identity, a chosen rather then assigned femininity." (taken from the book "femme: feminists, lesbians and bad girls". editors: laura harris and elizabeth crocker, 1997). Do you think that as women we choose our femininity, or do we just accept it because it is the "norm"? Why do you choose to be feminine? Why do you choose to reject femininity? How can we as women reclaim our femininity? How are you reclaiming yours? www.amazon.com/gp/product/041591874X/103-5406384-9923829?v=glance&n=283155
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Post by kristina on Mar 8, 2006 23:40:45 GMT -5
Is this how i am supposed to do this? just reply like this? i have never done this before, but i am so excited to discuss. i will be thinking of issues and questions to bring to the femme table, but now i'll expound my ideas on some of your great discussion questions.
i think that most women accept their femininity because it is the cultural norm to the point that they don't even consider questioning why they are feminine or what it actually means to be feminine. this is a very sad thing, but some women are not interested in topics like this. i would like to believe that i choose my femininity, but i know that realistically our society has influenced it in some way. i feel that this influence is okay only because i do question the norm and take chances, which help me to learn more about myself. I choose to be feminine but sometimes that does not look like femininity to others. i think that a person who feels womanly inside only truly accepts and embraces her femininity if she stays true to herself through her feelings, thoughts, and actions. If a woman embraces what she feels makes her feminine regardless of what the norm says is feminine, then she is a true feminine being. this is what i try to live by, for example, my hair is long and "feminine" now, but in the past it has been all but shaved (my friends called me susan powder). i felt very much like myself when i had no hair and that made me feel feminine, so now i have a better grasp of what makes me feminine. it is not long and "girly" hair, but something much deeper. i am a hair dresser and many of my clients say, "oh, i could never do that, i would feel too manly." this is sad to me because i feel that they have not yet learned lessons about their femininity that goes beyond outward appearances. this also signifies that their grasp of femininity is a loose one because it is based on societal norms, such as long hair=femininity.
femme to and for myself, kristina
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Post by quincy on Apr 26, 2006 23:44:26 GMT -5
Ain't worth sayin' if you can't do it in a single sentence.
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Post by regalia on Apr 26, 2006 23:56:22 GMT -5
here now...are you looking to get smited?
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Post by quincy on Apr 27, 2006 0:08:38 GMT -5
here now...are you looking to get smited? Who you talking at, Red?
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Post by regalia on Apr 28, 2006 15:26:59 GMT -5
here now...are you looking to get smited? Who you talking at, Red? tha. wap. that's the sound of me smackin dat ass, boi
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emaly
New Member
Posts: 11
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Post by emaly on May 17, 2006 18:38:36 GMT -5
Here's a one liner for lil Q. Is femininity a construct of a phallocentric society as a means of control or a language controlled/used by women? Or both?
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Post by niralys on May 23, 2006 19:53:53 GMT -5
I say both. We can decry the use of cosmetics or "sexy" clothing as having been forced on us by patriarchy to make us conform to a standard of "prettiniess"... but cosmetics, tattooing, jewelry and revealing clothing were also used in gyno-centric (Goddess worship)societies of the past, as a means to glorify the beauty and power of women. Today, many men express a preference for "natural" women, i.e. no make-up or fancy hair. Does this mean that if you DON'T wear lipstick and rouge that you are conforming to some version of male sexual fantasy? Of course not. Feminine simply means 'womanly'. Thus, if you are a woman, then you are feminine. Perhaps we need a new word to describe the conventional notion of feminine = girly = pretty, so that our womanhood is not defined by our outward appearance. Any suggestions?
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