What is the difference between masculinity and femininity?

Let’s get straight to the point. Due to prejudices and resistance to change surrounding current gender policies in both society and the military, articles on gender often face significant opposition. They are quickly dismissed as “woke,” making any discussion about gender an uphill battle. But what is gender, free from these biases?

Gender refers to the awareness that there is a difference between biological sex (male, female, or somewhere in between) and the social behavior society associates with that sex—for example, the stereotype that men are aggressive while women are peaceful. With more research conducted on gender, it becomes clearer that men’s and women’s social behaviors are not inherently different, much like differences in eye or skin color, height, culture, religion, or class need not be fundamentally distinct.

The most important concepts in gender studies are masculinity and femininity. The dominant social construct (a commonly accepted belief) is that there is an essential difference between men and women: Men are masculine, and women are feminine.

To illustrate this, we can draw from Greek mythology. Masculinity is often represented by Ares, the god of war. Typical masculine traits include being persistent, courageous, strong, logical, and autonomous. However, masculinity can also be system-oriented, autocratic, exclusive, sexist, and even bloodthirsty.

On the other hand, femininity is symbolized by Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Typical feminine traits include being empathetic, creative, inclusive, equal, strategic in using (limited) violence, caring but also emotional, weak, fearful, or vulnerable.

This perspective on gender creates an essential opposition—a polarity. If you want to be masculine, you supposedly cannot possess feminine traits. You are either Ares or Aphrodite. It’s either/or. But this is not how gender works. There is no such polarity. Every individual possesses both masculine and feminine traits, which can be fully developed.

Instead of being either masculine or feminine, it is possible to have both high masculine and high feminine traits simultaneously. Greek antiquity also provides a visualization of this idea: Athena, the goddess of strategy and victory. Her victories come not only from strength and resilience, but also from strategic creativity and clear insight into her enemies. It’s both/and. This combination is called androgyny.