Manliness

[Anne]

I am rereading a book I read a couple of years ago, Manliness, by Harvey Mansfield, a noted professor at Harvard University. It is a commentary on the gender wars, going back to the 50's and he has a definite point of view. It is not heavily academic, but does discuss several prominent authors, going back to De Beauvoir and Friedan. But along the way he has a lot of interesting things to say and affords me the opportunity to rethink femininity. He believes, by the way, that there are manly women: not unfeminine or unladylike, but secure, happy, well balanced people.

Just a thought for you.

Stacia, originally I thought I would be quite the feminine type. But then I realized that not only would that require physical changes, but mental and personality changes as well. The I realized that I don't have to, or want to, change who I am, just to suit the image I believed other's would expect from physical changes. So I have opted for the physical changes, and whatever mental and personality changes that come along for the ride. So that means that I won't be the round the clock dresses, skirts, and perfect makeup woman. Nope, sometimes maybe, but mostly the jeans and top and light makeup type. So if that means I retain some degree of masculinity, then so be it. I'm the one who has to be okay with me, and I won't bend to other's expectations. Hugs, Michelle

Michelle,  I'll bet if we could poll the women of America, we would discover that at least half (I think it's much higher than that) of them wear only a light amount of makeup for the vast majority of their awake time.  Marketers like to bombard us with images of beautiful women in lots of makeup but it's just a campaign to convince us we need to wear makeup all the time in a quest to be beautiful 100% of the time for fear that someone will notice that mark, that spot, that imperfection.  If you're mostly in jeans, a top and light makeup, I think you are just another woman in America.