I remember a primary school art lesson. The teacher held up
a picture of the Knife Thrower by Matisse. She said what do the shapes look
like?
We answered women, and she replied Yesss! Why do you think that? No joke, it took 5 minutes of her frustratedly going around the class as we all
dodged the answer in our mind ‘THE PINK LINE LOOKS LIKE TITS, MISS’. She gracefully
explained it was the curves of the line that indicated they were women, the
soft contours. Without this distinction with men’s sharp angular shapes, we
would never have recognised there was a gender in the painting at all. 
There’s poems, paintings, plays and stories written about a
woman’s smile. You’d need the library from the Beauty and the Beast (<3) to
contain all the art dedicated to her beauty in general. The curves, the soft hair,
the cupid bow of the lips, the delicate feet, the sizeable bottom. Voluptuous,
rubenesque, botticellian, lithe, willowy, svelte, ethereal, graceful. Women
have a myriad of lovely words to describe their form. But it goes so much
beyond that. The raising of an eyebrow (bushy and wild, or thin and
immaculate). It’s the blush of the cheeks, the crease of the brow. The placing
of jewellery in the hollow of her neck.
And it transcends physical traits. Appreciation of femininity
is without a doubt not limited to those with a pretty face/curvy figure. It’s the way their emotions can be written on their
face, like an open book. The ability to express feelings though just her eyes. Whether
it’s determination, happiness, pain, or lust. It’s the desire to nurture, the desire to
help. It’s a smile, a laugh. The ability to love so deeply. The willingness to
sacrifice. The virtuous morals. It’s being a strong female role model that people
can look up to. It’s the women throughout the history of the world that fought
injustice.
I know some people will disagree, but I really really think
the physical traits and personality characteristics dedicated to femininity are
precious and I don’t want to see that alluring side of things
fall away with
the fight for gender equality.
This whole post could be considered sexist, and by
definition, yep it totally it is. But it’s these female characteristics that greatly
influence my love for women, and my love for art and reading. It’s not like I’m
taking it to places where it has no place, e.g. Theresa May’s choice of blusher was beautiful, and goodness, the glow
of her face as she said no more help for migrants, it could only be described
as angelic.
Rather, it’s a great appreciation of the place we’ve had in
music, art and literature. It’s an appreciation of our mums, grandmothers,
sisters and friends. I couldn’t be more proud of the characteristics that I
have, that are commonly attributed to women. I also love my more masculine
traits, though admittedly, these come out when I’m forced to. I’m a big
believer that everyone is a mix of masculinity and femininity, and both are
beautiful.
And the beauty of femininity
is not something that is restricted to women either. My god, my boyfriend’s
feet are more dainty and beautiful than mine. My boyfriend also has to be gentle/senstitive/caring
at times or I couldn’t be with him. A man earnestly expressing his emotions, I
could listen all day!
Can we not drop the negative connotations of womanhood in
our quest for gender quality but keep the positives? I’d be truly upset if the
differences between the two sexes were lost. I want to take femininity back to
what is, something that is admirable rather than an insult. And this isn’t to
say that masculinity isn’t admirable, that’s just a post for another day.
No comments
Chat time!