It’s Mon 9 March 9p.m. (Singapore time) as I write this. There has been a spate of articles that landed in my mailbox relating to feminism, femininity and Emma Watson just now.
The Modern-Day Feminist
When Emma Watson (the actress best remembered for her role in Harry Potter) became the UN Goodwill Ambassador for Women, she spoke about the F-word.
No, not the F-word, you think a sexologist like myself would usually get excited about.
It’s another F-word: Feminism.
Like Watson, I identify as a feminist, and have been for some time. Read more in my previous blog post here.
This was a hoax and it was reported today that this was what she felt: “I was raging, it made me so angry, I was like, this is why I have to be doing this. If anything, if they were trying to put me off it, it did the opposite.”
Big cheer for Watson!
Feminist: The belief that women are and should be treated as potential intellectual equals and social equals to men.
The Feminine Person
In another report, Watson talked about how societies has devalued feminine qualities for too long.
Another F-word: Feminine.
She rightly said: “Our society in general devalues the she, I mean the qualities that are associated with the feminine that are found in all of us.”
For Watson, “He For She is about men coming to support women for femininity and for feminine qualities, because they are currently valued less in our society. Femininity needs to be embraced wherever it is … whether it be in a man or a woman or a non-conforming gender person.”
Just as the Chinese talks about the Yin (feminine) and Yang (masculine), they are not exclusive to one gender and resides in all of us. One trait at the dismiss of the other can result in an imbalance.
Feminine: Having qualities traditionally ascribed to women, as sensitivity or gentleness.
Besides coming out of a femininist last year, I came out as being feminine earlier this year in this post: “How Femininity Changed My Life.”
Recognising that I like and want to be feminine and also identify as being a feminist are not conflicting identities, but it seems to be to be the case for some people. Femininity is not just about beauty or the appreciation of it as this blogger seems to believe.
To me, femininity is a state of being vs. doing.
The all-seeing vs. the all-doing.
A stillness… in the chaos.
Are you a feminine feminist?
Could you be one?
Would you like to be hone this quality within you?
Join me in one of my workshops where you will learn more about your feminine side: Preview (2hours); Weekly classes (Tues, Thurs or Sun); half-day (for couples), full-day.
Only the half-day event will include people who identify as men – sorry. We do need to create spaces for women to feel safe to explore their sexuality including their femininity more deeper. It is important that women come and be together.
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Who is Martha?
Dr. Martha Tara Lee is Founder and Clinical Sexologist of Eros Coaching. She is a certified sexologist with a Doctorate in Human Sexuality. She provides sexuality and relationship coaching for individuals and couples, conducts sexual education workshops and speaks at public events. She is the author of the book Love, Sex and Everything In-Between, and the host of the weekly radio show Eros Evolution on OMTimes Radio. For more, visit www.ErosCoaching.com or email info@eroscoaching.com.
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