Femininity Definition Essay

Woman Femininity, or rather my best imitation, has always seemed to be forcibly adhered —reluctantly at best— to the façade of my person. It hung loose like the plaid pleated skirt I was forced to wear once a year for Christmas piano recitals, a tradition I resented almost as much as the garment itself. “It will make your mother happy, I don’t ask for much,” I heard ad nauseam, as I pleaded with my mother, grandmother, and aunt to let me wear the relaxed khaki pants I wore for every other event formal enough to cause me to change out of jeans. No matter how valid any points I made using my elementary schooler rhetoric, I was met with the same response. “You’re a girl, just look pretty this once.” My confusion only exacerbated my frustration at the situation. How could my brother wear black pants and a wrinkled shirt and still be deemed presentable, yet somehow my gender made the same outfit a treacherous fashion faux pas, …show more content…
During my childhood I had been bombarded with messages about girlhood and being “pretty”. My rejection, apathy, and confusion towards girly things made me feel both like there was a distinct divide and that I was some poor unlovable soul trapped in between. I realize now that it is not so black and white, and it frankly need not matter whether or not anyone else or their grandma finds me pretty. My fashion sense these days is more feminine, but I am still the same girl who tucked her ponytail up into her baseball cap so no one would notice a girl on the field. I’m still the girl who is mystified by makeup tutorials and has no idea what “setting powder” is. I’m still the girl who classmates taunted for wearing baggy clothes, until they needed help with their math homework. That scared and confused girl is still with me, and I haven’t worn tights in over a decade, but now I realize that I am something much