The Myth of Femininity: A Panel

IS femininity a pattern of behavior which is biologically predetermined by inheritance, or is it culturally determined? Obviously most women behave differently from men, but the question that I have asked myself is: to what extent is this behavior a reflection of biological forces and to what extent is it a result of external expectations, what is femininity and from where is it derived? I recently found a useful terminology in a discussion of this subject by Dr. William Silverberg in a symposium on feminine psychology held in New York City in 1950.¹

“It is important here to distinguish between psycho-biological and cultural connotations of the word femininity. — If we were to define femininity in purely biological terms, we would say that a woman had achieved this adaption if she succeeded in having sexual intercourse, producing offspring and feeding them by means of her lactating breast. This may be in part what we mean by femaleness, but it is not what we mean by femininity. Such a definition does not satisfy us because, while it includes certain biological elements, it neither includes nor implies those psychic factors which are an indispensable part of the concept of femininity.”

I find this distinction between femaleness and femininity a very useful one. Femaleness is a simple biological fact, while femininity is a complex psychological concept.

Some years ago, after much thought, study, and clinical experience, I came to realize that much of what the culture calls feminine are various aspects of the dependent solution as described by Horney. Of the three ways in which people can respond to handle their anxiety, moving towards others, the dependent solution, is the one which our culture has traditionally assigned to women. The other two—moving against, and moving away, are generally assigned to men. Therefore, most predominantly aggressive and detached individuals are men, while most predominantly dependent individuals are women.

Submissiveness, self-effacement, b