femininity

femininity
A summary term, contrasted with masculinity , for the distinctive ways of acting and feeling on the part of women. Precisely what characteristics are listed varies, though passivity, dependence, and weakness are usually mentioned. Sociologists point to the social origins of femininity and female subjectivity, and stress their ideological role, but discussions of femininity often lapse into essentialism.

Dictionary of sociology. 2013.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Femininity — (also called womanliness) refers to qualities and behaviors judged by a particular culture to be ideally associated with or especially appropriate to women and girls. Distinct from femaleness, which is a biological and physiological… …   Wikipedia

  • Femininity — Fem i*nin i*ty, n. 1. The quality or nature of the female sex; womanliness. [1913 Webster] 2. The female form. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] O serpent under femininitee. Chaucer. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • femininity — late 14c., femynynytee, from FEMININE (Cf. feminine) + ITY (Cf. ity) …   Etymology dictionary

  • femininity — / feminine [n/adj] womanly effeminate, effete, fertile, gender, gynic, womanhood, womanish, womanliness; concepts 371,372,408,648 Ant. masculinity …   New thesaurus

  • femininity — [[t]fe̱mɪnɪ̱nɪti[/t]] 1) N UNCOUNT A woman s femininity is the fact that she is a woman. ...the drudgery behind the ideology of motherhood and femininity. Ant: masculinity 2) N UNCOUNT Femininity means the qualities that are considered to be… …   English dictionary

  • femininity — feminineness, feminism, femininity These are the only survivors from a whole host of 19c formations which also included feminacy, feminality, feminility, and femininitude (the last a nonce word used in 1878). Feminineness and femininity have much …   Modern English usage

  • femininity — fem|i|nin|i|ty [ˌfemıˈnınıti] n [U] qualities that are considered to be typical of women, especially qualities that are gentle, delicate, and pretty →↑masculinity ▪ You don t have to lose your femininity to be an independent, successful woman …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • femininity — noun (U) qualities that are considered to be typical of women, especially qualities that are gentle, delicate, and pretty: Different cultures often have different concepts of femininity and masculinity …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • femininity — feminine ► ADJECTIVE 1) having qualities traditionally associated with women, especially delicacy and prettiness. 2) female. 3) Grammar referring to a gender of nouns and adjectives, conventionally regarded as female. ► NOUN (the feminine) ▪ the… …   English terms dictionary

  • femininity — noun Date: 14th century 1. the quality or nature of the female sex 2. effeminacy 3. women, womankind …   New Collegiate Dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”