The femininity movement has been more prevalent these days. It gains the attention and following of more and more women daily. Women have become more self-conscious, causing them to want to know more about who they are and the best way to show up in this world. Living in a world that is historically patriarchal, more and more women seek a more feminine and fulfilling lifestyle.

If you’re curious about your femininity, you must have wondered if your personality is more feminine or masculine. More so, you might have wondered what exactly is considered to be feminine and what’s considered to be masculine? 

In this article, I’ll explain to you the dynamics of both sexes’ personalities. I’ll tell you the traits that are traditionally, genetically and stereotypically associated with femininity and masculinity.

The Meaning of Femininity and Masculinity 

Google describes femininity as qualities or attributes regarded as characteristic of women. It’s what makes a woman different from a woman. Feminine traits are those traits that women are naturally more drawn to, better at, known for, or more fitted for than men. 

Google describes masculinity as qualities or attributes regarded as characteristic of men. It’s what makes a man different from a woman. Masculine traits are those traits that men are naturally more drawn to, better at, known for, or more fitted for than women. 

These traits might appear different for a woman depending on her circumstance. For example, a woman that has lived in a men-dominated area for a long time might develop some masculine traits or think of a masculine trait as a feminine one. The same theory is vice versa for men.

Feminine and Masculine Traits

You might be surprised to know that femininity isn’t all about being weaker, nurturing, and lighter. Although these traits are present and even abundant, there are other facets too. 

Likewise; you might be surprised to know that masculinity isn’t all about being serious, rigid, and out of touch with emotions. Although these traits are present and even abundant, there are other facets too. 

These are the traits generally associated with the two sexes.

Feminine	Masculine
Being	Doing
Surrender	Aggressive
Patient	Urgent
Receptive	Assertive
Soft	Hard
Submissive	Dominant
Allowing	Controlling
Compassion	Principle
Sensitive	Self-centered
Graceful	Self-confident
Nurturing	Strong
Expressive	Survival
Receiving	Producing
Passive	Active
Feeling	Thinking
Emotional	Logical
Intuitive	Rational
Relationship oriented	Task oriented
Creation	Consumption
Tend and befriend	Fight or flight
Cooling	Heating
Cooperation	Competition
Listening	Talking
Collective	Individual
Internal	External
Whole focus	Part focus
Process	Result
Collaborative	Competitive
Circles or swirls	Hierarchical structure
Circular	Linear
Planning	Action
Focus on effect	Focus on intent
Interdependent	Independent
Heart	Head
Love	Need
Beauty	Will
Freedom	Structured
Listening	Speaking
Respond	Project
Open	Directive
Subconscious	Conscious
Stakeholder oriented	Bottom-line oriented
Imagination	Reason
Subjective	Objective
The unknown	Certainty
Care	Protect
Flexible	Rigid
Flow	Go
Tactful	Blunt
Indecisive	Decisive
Multi-task	Mono-task
Multi-function	Uni-function
Both/And	Either/Or
Sustainability	Efficiency
Spontaneity	Predictability
Pleasure	Duty
Devotion	Discipline
Fluid	Solid
Holds on	Let’s go
Bright and pastel colors	Earthy colors
Embellishments	Woven textures
Curvy shapes	Boxy shapes
Temporal	Spatial
Experience	Tradition
Artistic	Scientific
Poetic	Mechanical
Dionysian	Apollonian
Holism	Reductionism
Desegregating	Compartmentalizing
Integrating	Differentiating
Right brain	Left brain
Earth	Heaven
Water	Fire
Moon	Sun
Eastern	Western
Liberal	Conservative
Democratic	Republican
Yin	Yang
Innocence “in no sense”	Must “make sense”
Just being is valid	Must achieve to be valid
Looks for love	Looks for a problem to solve
Makes small things big	Makes big things small
In tune with the body and its sensations and feeling	Transcends emotions into awareness
Stimulated by praise	Stimulated by challenge
Free-flowing, full of life energy	Full of direction and purpose
Wants to gather, talk and vent	Wants freedom and release
Creates community through listening and sharing	Relates through games and camaraderie
Magnetically attract what you want	Sets boundaries around emotions
Sees the big picture and enjoys the process	Relentless pursuits of achievement
Receptive, calm, fluid and in tune with emotions	More willing to take risks, plans and craves structure
Understanding, compassionate and feel as a being	Rushes through the process and is decisive in action
The need to feel connected, valued, appreciated and nurtured	The need to feel successful, purposeful, supported and focused
Needs reassurance and attention	Needs admiration and appreciation
Wants trust, connection and praise	Wants to be needed and respected
Free, flowing, open, radiant	Strong, controlled and focused
Invisible	Concrete
Beautiful	Functional
Nurturer	Provider
Receiving	Giving

Yin and Yang Energies

In Daoism tradition, there are 2 types of energies – yin (black) and yang (white). Women are known to be more associated with the yin energy, while men are known to be more associated with the yang energy. Here are the differences between yin and yang energies. 

Yin	Yang
Feminine	Masculine
Negative charge	Positive charge
Black	White
Shade	Light
Night	Day
Moon	Sun
Water	Fire
Wetness	Dryness
Autumn/Winter	Spring/Summer
Faded	Vibrant
Discreet	Obvious
Indirect	Direct
Rounded	Straight
Softness	Hardness
Flexibility	Solidity
Inactivity	Activity
Stillness	Movement
Calm	Energetic
Slow	Fast
Tired	Lively
Seed	Sprout
Frontside	Backside
Left Side	Right Side
Right brain	Left brain
Internal energy	External energy
Interior	Exterior
Introspection	Assertion
Drawing in	Sending out
Closed spaces	Open spaces
Mental	Physical
Even numbers	Odd numbers
Intuition	Analytical
Storage	Usage
Quiet	Loud
Receptive	Giving
Death	Life
Higher pitches	Lower pitches
Passive	Active
Compassion	Aggression
Nurturing	Initiating
Submissive	Dominant

Seek Balance

Both feminine and masculine traits exist in all of us, man and woman. You shouldn’t think that because you’re a female, you must express only feminine traits. A healthy person (man or woman) is well balanced in both masculine and feminine traits. It’s not healthy to be exclusively feminine or exclusively masculine. As a woman, it’s fine to lean more towards the feminine side but being all feminine will make it difficult to relate to the world in a healthy way and cause you to lose touch with reality. The same concept is advised for men.

The goal is to be balanced. Find a way to have a healthy balance of both. You shouldn’t be either black or white, you should fall somewhere in the grey areas.

Furthermore, due to other parts of us like our personality types, genetics, zodiac signs, etc, we aren’t expected to have only feminine traits. There are numerous factors that make up a person’s complete personality, and gender is only one of them. People are different in nature and that’s a beautiful thing.

Final Remarks

Ladies, I hope you now have a good understanding of femininity and masculinity. Always embrace your femininity in everything you do. You can use this knowledge to coordinate yourself accordingly. Use your feminine wisdom to be a better person and live your highest life. Be the woman you always wanted to be.