Just as toxic masculinity harms men and women, so does toxic femininity.

Toxic masculinity is often talked about in society, toxic femininity, however, is something we hear far less off. Toxic femininity is the idea that women expressing stereotypically “feminine” traits, such as sensitivity, passivity, patience, and receptivity, can result in individuals ignoring their mental or physical needs to sustain those around them.

This article shows how toxic femininity affects women and the roots of these issues. It also lists some examples of toxic femininity, such as a woman restricting herself to only eating a salad on a date. It explains how if a woman is displaying toxic feminine traits then these are tactics that women use to survive oppressive misogyny, or they suffering from internalized misogyny.

Toxic femininity does exist, and it affects both women and men.

• For women, toxic femininity pressures them into adhering to female stereotypes (as Katie said before me). Female stereotypes are not always positive, even when we have been socially conditioned to view them as such. For example, it can be good in some situations to be nurturing, passive, and gentle, but these types of traits can also lead to a person being used, manipulated, and taken advantage of.
• Men are then also affected by toxic femininity because their expectations for women are warped by social standards. Many men expect women to be the passive partner in relationships. They may also expect sexual submissiveness, automatic care and concern for their problems, and mothering tendencies. Many women do not act in this way, and men therefore will treat them poorly because of it.
• However, another way in which men are affected by toxic femininity is that they feel they need to enhance their own masculinity in order to be seen as desirable and fitting of their role as the dominant partner. This causes a kind of intermingling between toxic femininity and toxic masculinity.
• Of course, not all femininity and masculinity is toxic, and the performance of either can be practiced by anyone. However, when either is taken to a toxic place, both masculinity and femininity can do more harm than good.