Energy is neither created nor destroyed. It is a current that flows through our world and through our ecosystems, every minute and every second of every day. With this considered, it is interesting to see how people try to destroy or restrict the energy that is at their core. Now, I am not referencing the energy that comes from our consumption of food, but rather the feminine and masculine energies that make up each and every one of us. Whether you identify as a woman or man, we all carry feminine and masculine energy. Are yours in balance?
We often try to put our feminine or masculine energy behind closed doors to the point of suffocation; however, we must let ourselves breathe. Men are told to “man up” when they show the slightest bit of vulnerability. On the other end of the spectrum, women run the risk of being labeled “too emotional” by male peers and colleagues if they shed a tear at work. Too often it feels as if it’s the feminine energy that is being shut away and told to quiet down — why is that? Is there something wrong with embracing your femininity? There shouldn’t be, so why does society, with both women and men, turn their backs to the femininity that is within them? If one were to examine the flow of society’s feminine and masculine energy, it would look like an internal tug of war: an unhealthy leaning towards masculine energy, and not enough leaning in towards feminine energy.
With the tossing around of the terms feminine and masculine energy, it is best to define them before getting too deep into this internal struggle. Feminine energy is associated with traits such as creativity, receptivity, and empathy. On the other hand, masculine energy is associated with traits such as being logical, goal-driven, and independent. These are traits that both women and men are capable of expressing and a balance of these features is essential to a well-rounded individual. In fact, going off of yin-yang philosophy, individuals should find balance in their energies in order for internal (and consequently external) harmony to be achieved. By this ideology, feminine energy is associated with ‘yin’ and masculine energy is associated with ‘yang’ and interestingly, neither energy can exist without the other. Therefore, how can a person lead a balanced life and have true understanding of themself if they try to counter this balance?
Energy is genderless. Whether you like it or not, women have masculine energy and men have feminine energy. While it should be as simple as that, this issue has persisted since the dawn of time. Perhaps, if the two energies were embraced more by people, we would be less confused (and defensive) when it comes to owning our energy (for goodness sake, be you!).
In an article written in Psychology Today titled What Does It Mean to Be Feminine or Masculine by Tamsen Firestone (published on October 30, 2018) it was established that females’ and males’ brains are slightly structured differently making it so females are better able to tap into their feelings and emotions than males. However, this structural difference along with differing effects of testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone on the brain, seem to be the extent of the contrast between females’ and males’ brains. Firestone references how the brain is otherwise a “unisex organ.” The article points out how we have been trained by society to act in a certain way as women and men. Therefore, to answer the earlier question as to why feminine energy is typically silenced compared to masculine energy, it is likely because of the “societal norms” that many of us have practiced for so long.
From childhood to adulthood, it is drilled into each individual how to act depending on their gender thus creating division between women and men. Inadvertently, individuals may apply gender stereotypes to their lives that are not necessarily true. It has almost become an accepted belief throughout society that women can do certain things that men cannot and vice versa. However, many of these “beliefs” are in reality decades, even centuries, old stereotypes. For instance, women are often labeled as the nurturing caregivers while men are seen as the “bread winners” that have to carry a stern upper lip. These labels are damaging to both women and men and have the potential to harm the relationship people have with their energies. Somewhere in history, feminine and masculine energy got tangled up in gender identities which has ultimately led to negative gender stereotypes and an unhealthy imbalance of these energies.
Everything in life is about balance: work and personal time, spending and saving, self-care and helping others, and feminine and masculine energy. So, keep a balance happening to let your true self shine. If we all become quiet with ourselves and get in tune with both our feminine and masculine energy then we may restore balance in not only ourselves but in the world.