What Is Toxic Femininity?

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Table of Contents

What Does Toxic Femininity Mean?

What Toxic Femininity Is Not

Impact of Toxic Femininity

What You Can Do About Toxic Femininity

Keep in Mind

Toxic femininity is a broad term that refers to a rigid and repressive definition of womanhood, including pressures women face to restrict themselves to stereotypically feminine traits and characteristics. Examples of traits that are traditionally associated with femininity include empathy, sensitivity, gentleness, and gracefulness.

Toxic femininity refers to the adherence to the gender binary in order to receive conditional value in patriarchal societies. It is a concept that restricts women to being cooperative, passive, sexually submissive, gentle, and deriving their value from physical beauty while being pleasing to men.

Iftoxic masculinityencourages violence and domination in order to uphold an unequal power dynamic, then toxic femininity supports silent acceptance of violence and domination in order to survive.

While toxic masculinity states that men should act tough, show no emotions, and reject anything considered feminine, toxic femininity pressures women to be quiet, nurturing, submissive, and attractive. “Womanhood” in this instance is defined in a very shallow manner that objectifies and harms women.

Toxic masculinity and toxic femininity appear to be two sides of the same coin, but power is the undercurrent that pressures men to play an aggressive, violent, intimidating, and sexually dominant role in order to stay in power, and women to seek to please those in power in order to avoid punishment and pain.

Like toxic masculinity, toxic femininity is made up of a myriad of culture-specific rules. However, through research and references in pop culture, the following core components have emerged:

What Is Toxic Masculinity?

Like toxic masculinity, toxic femininity is the product of a patriarchal society. These toxic notions of femininity further deny women agency or identity.That said, discussions of the term outside of academic spaces can verge on the antifeminist side. They are used as a reactionary argument against feminist discussions of toxic masculinity.

Some uses of the term toxic femininity spread harmfulstereotypes of feminine behaviorwhile suggesting men as the primary victims of this—for example, the claim that women are naturally very emotional, manipulative, or gossipy.

This interpretation of the term is used to negate discourse on how power is gendered , seeking instead to place feminism as the cause ofgender inequality.

Because of this, scholars have suggested people consider what is toxic about some approaches to femininity versus using this term in an inaccurate or manipulative way. Most behaviors given as examples of toxic femininity are actually examples of misogyny or internalized misogyny.

Sexuality vs. Gender: What’s the Difference?

Toxic femininity is comprised of person-specific rules and regulations that are constantly in flux. For example, some may believe wearing heels to work is essential.

There is no correct, blanket, or exact way to be feminine as expressions of femininity are personal, intimate, and not to be policed.

Grooming Habits

For example, a 2016 study of 14,600 individuals in the workplace found that less attractive but well-groomed women earned more on average than women who were more attractive but less groomed.

This means that the women’s grooming habits accounted for almost all of the salary differences in this research pool. Whereas for the men in the study, their grooming habits accounted for roughly half.

Thus the researchers concluded that while good grooming is beneficial for men, it is imperative for women should they seek to access labor market rewards.

Cosmetic Use

In contrast, a 2018 study into the cosmetic use of women in the workplace found that makeup used for a social night out negatively impacted the perception of a woman’s leadership ability.

The researchers theorized that this might be due to makeup-enhancing traits that are important for relationships and having families, which is incompatible with the notion of social dominance in leadership.

In essence, the rules don’t matter as much as the insecurity that they provoke. It is their rigidity and contradiction that make women so desperate to keep up. Within this desperation, women become easier to control and exploit.

Toxic femininity, therefore, is dangerous as it posits the subjugation of women as natural and essential for social approval.

For example, the pressure to be quiet, nurturing, and submissive can lead to women falling victim to abuse or remaining in unsafe conditions due to feeling duty-bound to stay. Furthermore, these issues also go beyond the home.

In essence, toxic femininity is detrimental to the fight for women’s equality as it seeks to maintain the rigid, toxic gendered power structures and systems in place today.

Rather than encouraging, supporting, and celebrating women to be fully expressed as they are, toxic femininity pressures women to feel apologetic, confused, and ashamed for their non-gender stereotype confirming thoughts, ideas, and beliefs.

Furthermore, the fear of de-gendering oneself through neutral human acts locks women into a rigid re-definition of femininity that is beneficial to no one.

Nevertheless, while toxic femininity may seem to be everywhere, there are also many examples of embodied and authentic femininity. These vast and varied presentations of femininity steer clear of rigid rules and center on autonomy and individuality.

Rather than being objectified or pigeonholed, women and non-binary folks are supported in being fully human and freely expressed in their femininity in ways that feel authentic, enlivening, and true for those celebrating it. These personal manifestations and expressions of femininity offer reprieve, rest, inspiration, and hope in the fight against misogyny.

Here are some things you can do on a daily basis to help combat the effects of toxic femininity:

After all, it is rigid gender structures as a whole that need to be fought against, and this may help us remember the bigger picture. Taking a more expansive and accepting view of gender can promote healthy femininity and masculinity.

No, Women Are Not More Emotional Than Men

It can feel overwhelming at times to consider the ways toxic femininity affects you, your life, and your full expression of yourself. Like toxic masculinity, toxic femininity limits the ways that people feel comfortable expressing themselves.

The important thing is becoming aware of how gendered labels and stereotypes inhibit us, so moving forward, we can be more conscious of acting with authenticity and giving others the space and the respect to be their authentic selves, too.

Modern Femininity: Why Being Untraditional Is So Stressful

7 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Snider N.“Why Didn’t She Walk Away?” Silence, Complicity, and the Subtle Force of Toxic Femininity.Contemporary Psychoanalysis. 2018;54(4):763–777.McCann H.Is there anything “toxic” about femininity? The rigid femininities that keep us locked in.Psychology & Sexuality. 2022;13(1):9-22. doi:10.1080/19419899.2020.1785534Wong JS, Penner AM.Gender and the returns to attractiveness.Research in Social Stratification and Mobility. 2016;44:113-123. doi:10.1016/j.rssm.2016.04.002James EA, Jenkins S, Watkins CD.Negative effects of makeup use on perceptions of leadership ability across two ethnicities.Perception. 2018;47(5):540-549. doi:10.1177/0301006618763263Bonell S, Barlow FK, Griffiths S.The cosmetic surgery paradox: Toward a contemporary understanding of cosmetic surgery popularisation and attitudes.Body Image. 2021;38:230-240. doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2021.04.010Medium.Toxic femininity holds us all back.Rosander M, Salin D, Viita L, Blomberg S.Gender matters: workplace bullying, gender, and mental health.Front Psychol. 2020;11:560178. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.560178

7 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Snider N.“Why Didn’t She Walk Away?” Silence, Complicity, and the Subtle Force of Toxic Femininity.Contemporary Psychoanalysis. 2018;54(4):763–777.McCann H.Is there anything “toxic” about femininity? The rigid femininities that keep us locked in.Psychology & Sexuality. 2022;13(1):9-22. doi:10.1080/19419899.2020.1785534Wong JS, Penner AM.Gender and the returns to attractiveness.Research in Social Stratification and Mobility. 2016;44:113-123. doi:10.1016/j.rssm.2016.04.002James EA, Jenkins S, Watkins CD.Negative effects of makeup use on perceptions of leadership ability across two ethnicities.Perception. 2018;47(5):540-549. doi:10.1177/0301006618763263Bonell S, Barlow FK, Griffiths S.The cosmetic surgery paradox: Toward a contemporary understanding of cosmetic surgery popularisation and attitudes.Body Image. 2021;38:230-240. doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2021.04.010Medium.Toxic femininity holds us all back.Rosander M, Salin D, Viita L, Blomberg S.Gender matters: workplace bullying, gender, and mental health.Front Psychol. 2020;11:560178. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.560178

Snider N.“Why Didn’t She Walk Away?” Silence, Complicity, and the Subtle Force of Toxic Femininity.Contemporary Psychoanalysis. 2018;54(4):763–777.McCann H.Is there anything “toxic” about femininity? The rigid femininities that keep us locked in.Psychology & Sexuality. 2022;13(1):9-22. doi:10.1080/19419899.2020.1785534Wong JS, Penner AM.Gender and the returns to attractiveness.Research in Social Stratification and Mobility. 2016;44:113-123. doi:10.1016/j.rssm.2016.04.002James EA, Jenkins S, Watkins CD.Negative effects of makeup use on perceptions of leadership ability across two ethnicities.Perception. 2018;47(5):540-549. doi:10.1177/0301006618763263Bonell S, Barlow FK, Griffiths S.The cosmetic surgery paradox: Toward a contemporary understanding of cosmetic surgery popularisation and attitudes.Body Image. 2021;38:230-240. doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2021.04.010Medium.Toxic femininity holds us all back.Rosander M, Salin D, Viita L, Blomberg S.Gender matters: workplace bullying, gender, and mental health.Front Psychol. 2020;11:560178. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.560178

Snider N.“Why Didn’t She Walk Away?” Silence, Complicity, and the Subtle Force of Toxic Femininity.Contemporary Psychoanalysis. 2018;54(4):763–777.

McCann H.Is there anything “toxic” about femininity? The rigid femininities that keep us locked in.Psychology & Sexuality. 2022;13(1):9-22. doi:10.1080/19419899.2020.1785534

Wong JS, Penner AM.Gender and the returns to attractiveness.Research in Social Stratification and Mobility. 2016;44:113-123. doi:10.1016/j.rssm.2016.04.002

James EA, Jenkins S, Watkins CD.Negative effects of makeup use on perceptions of leadership ability across two ethnicities.Perception. 2018;47(5):540-549. doi:10.1177/0301006618763263

Bonell S, Barlow FK, Griffiths S.The cosmetic surgery paradox: Toward a contemporary understanding of cosmetic surgery popularisation and attitudes.Body Image. 2021;38:230-240. doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2021.04.010

Medium.Toxic femininity holds us all back.

Rosander M, Salin D, Viita L, Blomberg S.Gender matters: workplace bullying, gender, and mental health.Front Psychol. 2020;11:560178. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.560178

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Grooming Habits#

Cosmetic Use#

Grooming Habits

Cosmetic Use