# Positive masculinity and positive femininity?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-masculinity-and-positive-femininity/1023566>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [October 1, 2025, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-masculinity-and-positive-femininity/1023566 "2025-10-01T14:02:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 15

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**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\
**Post date:** [October 1, 2025, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-masculinity-and-positive-femininity/1023566/15 "2025-10-01T21:18:20Z")

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> [@Wesley\_Clark](#):
>
> > [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#):
> >
> > I’m not sure if I have ever heard either adjective applied to femininity.
> 
> I would assume positive femininity would be things like women having empowerment, self esteem, autonomy, education but also respect for others.
> 
> Toxic femininity would probably be things like hypocrisy, misandry, entitlement, lack of self awareness, malevolence.

Yeah, the term has been discussed a few times round these parts. [I said once](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toxic-masculinity-and-toxic-femininity-real-things-or-sexist-mumbo-jumbo/833866/23)

> [@Kimstu](#):
>
> I agree in general that “toxic femininity” covers not only specifically female-coded ways of being mean to other people, but also exploiting gender stereotypes of female “weakness” and “delicacy” and “sensitivity”, etc., to evade responsibility or shirk or freeload. The stereotypical behavior not only of “mean girls” but also of “golddiggers”, “dumb blondes”, “delicate flowers”, “helpless females”, “clinging vines” and so forth all falls into the category of “toxic femininity”.

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