Part 1 of the Feminist Chronicles: Why is femininity seen so negatively?

by Jayla Shanmugam, Editor-in-Chief

The following story was written by a student on the staff of The Jaguar Times as part of Hilliard Bradley High School’s Journalism Production course.

Imagine this: you overhear a young teen boy discussing the latest Ohio State Football results with a friend. What are the thoughts that come to your mind? Chances are that you probably just read the sentence and didn’t give it a second thought. Now, picture this scenario: A group of young girls are having a conversation about the new Taylor Swift album. What do those thoughts look like now? Did you start to think that the girls were “basic” or “uninteresting” for liking something so mainstream? Maybe you even rolled your eyes at the situation? If these ideas passed through your head, you are not alone. This is a very common and socially acceptable criticism regarding anything that has a majority female following. There is a certain stigma that people face when they express their love of anything deemed feminine. These things are labeled “uncool”, “stupid”, most recently “basic”. An example of this can be shown when talking about boy bands. Most adolescent girls are made fun of or looked down upon for liking One Direction. A lot of boys dislike this band, therefore they are quite often made fun of by men AND by women. Yet, The Beatles have been deemed to be “cool”, despite the fact that they also had just as large of a female following as One Direction. This is because boys also like them, therefore the band is taken more seriously. Essentially the point I am aiming to make is that when a person enjoys something that society considers to be feminine it is more likely to be made fun of then if someone expresses their like of something masculine.

If a girl wears these shoes she is considered to be a “basic” girl. Photo provided by Unsplash.

This is something that goes way deeper than just boy bands or music in general. It is a label that is tacked onto so many things. It is also something that happens so frequently, but it goes so unnoticed. This topic was actually never one that I have never considered until a couple of months ago when I saw social media posts about it. But, naturally once the seed was planted in my head I started to go a little insane over it. I was baffled that I had never pieced this together because I make a conscious effort to try to never say or do anything that puts down femininity.

Unfortunately, sexism is sneaky and is embedded in our culture which leads us to sometimes not realize these things. So, I decided to dig a little deeper on this topic and see what the teachers and students of Bradley had to say about this.

The concept of the “basic girl” really came to light in recent years. It began with the birth of the VSCO girl phenomenon. This is a concept of a girl who likes mainstream things and it is where the term “basic” came to life. Before the VSCO girl, “girly things” didn’t have a label they were just considered to be embarrassing to like. I can think of countless examples in pop culture and just everyday life where girls put down feminine interest. To put this into perspective a little better, here is a list of things that many young girls are chastised for liking: Target, iced coffee, hydro flask, specific TV shows or movies (like Grey's Anatomy), or even the season fall. Bradley students are familiar with this topic and also have an idea of the people who like popular things. When asked about what she thinks a “basic girl” is Hannah Boggs (12) commented “leggings, crop tops, and Air Force 1’s”. These are items that are very commonly made fun of because they are popular amongst females. Mrs.Cowles agrees with the correlation between something being basic and popular, “they call people that when it’s a trend and everyone does it.”

This idea seems completely ridiculous because these are just popular items that the majority of females like. These comments seem harmless until you realize that things that have a predominantly male following do not get this same criticism. For example, most boys are not getting made fun of for wearing Nike clothing or watching ESPN; if anything it makes them MORE cool. Ava Battistelli agrees saying, “I do not think boys are looked down upon the way girls are because society is biased towards them.” Some students seem to have a different understanding of criticisms against female targeted interest. Brayden Evans (12) said, “I think anyone, regardless [of]gender identity can be made fun of for liking things. The problem lies in the THINGS people like, not who likes them. A girl is less likely to be made fun of for liking football than a boy is for liking makeup. The issue is the misogynistic target placed on the backs of people who partake in femininity. People who are masculine, liking masculine things, won’t receive hate for it regularly. The fact is, people find issues in femininity itself, which is the result of toxic masculinity, misogyny, gender roles, the regular patriarchal hubbub.” This is an amazing point to be made because it seems as if the problem surrounding interest isn’t necessarily about gender, but more about gender expression. When something is masculine it is lifted up in society, but when something is feminine it is squashed.

Which one of these girls outfits are basic? The correct answer is all of them because in society’s terms any of these outfits would be considered basic! Photo provided by Jayla Shanmugam (12).

So other than this just seeming unfair, what are the actual repercussions of behavior like this? Yes, more feminine things seem to be more looked down upon, but does it really matter that much? I wanted to ask people if, when they expressed their love for something “girly”, it affected their relationship with femininity.he answer was a resounding “yes”. When asked if there had been a time in which she has been embarrassed for liking something “girly” Piper Brill (10) commented, “Many, many times. Until around second grade, if anyone would've asked me what my favorite color was, it would've been an immediate pink! When people began to make comments about how pink was ‘girly’, my second favorite color, blue, took the spot for my favorite color immediately. I believe that society has the awful idea that anything feminine, is weak. That is not true, but as a child, how was I supposed to feel confident and be respected if I was so girly?’” This statement is incredibly powerful as women and men shy away from their femininity in fear of condemnation and disrespect. Femininity is synonymous with weakness, so of course people are scared to embrace it. Many people do not understand that these micro-aggressions might seem insignificant in the moment, but when added up over the course of a lifetime can completely shift one's identity and belief system of how to express themselves. This drives members of society to drift away from their individuality and fall victim to a system that tells them that their femininity is shameful.

This shame ends up not only damaging people’s ability to be authentic, but it also creates an environment that turns women against one another. The stigma around femininity tends to make other women want to stay away from “girly girls'' because of how much negativity surrounds them. How many times have you heard women say that they only want friendships with men because girls are “catty” or “dramatic”? This type of comment usually comes from a woman who has been socially conditioned to see femininity as repulsive. Ms.Dyer agrees that female relationships become damaged by these comments. “ I think that it turns women against each other.” She explains that it creates an issue between women who embrace their femininity and women who reject it. Ms. Dyer also believes that, “if it was more acceptable to be feminine then there would be less division among women, men, and anyone who falls into any category. If we weren’t looking at femininity as something negative or weak then we would be more connected and inclusive.”

This issue is unfortunately one of many that is prevalent in our society. Everyday sexism happens so frequently that it is extremely difficult to recognize it. Small comments that put femininity down hurt every gender and their ability to be themselves shamelessly. It is crucial that we have these conversations so we can better understand the sexism that looms around us and that is in our own hearts. After we become knowledgeable about issues like this, we can take action to help put a stop to it. This is the only way that boys, girls, and anything in between will be able to express themselves freely in the future.