What Does It Mean To Be Feminine?
When I found this pink top, I immediately fell in love. I thought to myself, I am so not a pink girl! But, here's another great excuse to step outside my comfort zone... I decided to go for it! The silhouette and big ruffled shoulders totally sucked me in. I figured I would write about stepping out of my box, being "girly", being "feminine" and then I thought about it more... What does being feminine really mean? Does wearing pink make me any more "girly" or "feminine" than I am when I wear all black? So then, I changed my mind. I decided I would write the post about what being feminine means. Until I sat down to write it... and? stuck again. What does it really mean to be feminine?
I started reading tons of forums and articles on the topic, nobody could agree. So, I decided, it doesn't have to mean just one defined thing. I turned to the women in my life to help me on this one. I talked to a bunch of friends about what femininity means to them and decided what I wanted to do here is share those thoughts. So, I asked the question: "what does it mean to be feminine?" Here is what those close to me answered...
"To me, femininity transcends social stigmas and defies fashion and beauty norms. It's an ever-evolving word that can be defined through characteristics such as strength, confidence, perseverance, patience, and kindness. Above all, I think it's about empowerment - empowering yourself, your loved ones and others around you!"
"I think femininity is feeling comfortable in your skin and reminding yourself you're worth it. I don't think women tell themselves their worth often enough and I think what makes me feel most feminine is when I take a moment, breath, and really take in a private moment for myself. When I can reflect and create routines for myself that take care of ME, that's when I feel most confident as a woman. Especially since I have been so busy and stressed lately, those moments when I get home, do my skin routine, turn on essential oils, and work on a mindfulness hobby, I feel whole and beautiful."
"It means finding your own balance between bold and subtle, powerful and delicate, or sexy and conservative. To be feminine means learning when and how you feel like your best, most confident self. And once you find that, it means not letting anyone tell you you're not feminine."
"To be feminine, to me, means to celebrate all things about being a girl. The chance to twirl in a gorgeous gown, to paint my nails a bubblegum pink, to bat my eyelashes and flirt. Basically, to indulge in the deliciousness of being a woman."
"To me, femininity is the art of being a unique woman. It enables us to express our free spirits, individual personalities, intuition, grace, kindness, strength, determination, gentleness and power. Femininity embraces our ability to express our lives and our style as beautifully, uniquely and as daring as we wish!"
"Femininity to me means so many things... a woman, she's delicate, she's powerful, she's strong. she's a mother, a friend a child... She may look precious and delicate, but she is all strength inside."
So, what does being feminine mean to you? I would love to hear your thoughts!
xx Ali
Photos by: Caitlin Lee of Public Lives Secret Recipes
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