how to be feminine in a masculine world

read time: 3 min

The contents of this newsletter have been inspired by nutritionist @jessicaashwellness.

We live in a society that is driven by masculine energy.

Where doing, pushing, forcing, and being in your head are the ideal.

Many women have been constrained to this framework. Most corporations, careers, and education systems require women to be in the masculine.

Some women thrive within this structure. However, it might coming at the expense of their health and happiness and they just might not know it yet.

For the rest of us, something feels off.

This way of being does not always cater to our female physiology.

Why?

Men & women are different but have equally important roles.

We have a different biological purpose due to our main hormones. This dictates our resilience to stress and our rhythms.

our modern society versus our ancestral past

In this modern age, some of us are fighting our biology and ignoring our ancestral history which is still deep within us.

Women may have adopted new roles, but for hundreds of thousands of years men and women had different purposes and responsibilities.

Men went out and hunted.

Women stayed back to gather and raise children as a village. They got pregnant, birthed, breastfed, cooked, and taught together.

Today, careers, salaries, and lifestyles we choose can come at a tremendous cost to our vitality, health, and well being.

We’ve traded working for our families to working for a boss.

We’ve traded homemaking and our hobbies for the 9-5.

We’ve traded living in the feminine for living in the masculine.

#1: we have a different biological purpose

Our main biological purpose is reproduction. It does not have to be our personal purpose, but it is our biological purpose. (Jessica Ash Wellness)

Our job is to create, sustain, and nurture life. **

A man’s biological purpose is to be the protective umbrella to provide for that life. They protect that life system and build and support the community around it.

Society didn’t decide upon this for us, biology did. We live in a modern world but our cells remain in traditional roles.

It is important to keep these truths in mind in our modern world.

#2: we have different hormones

Why do we have a different biological purpose?

We have different main hormones.

Men’s main virility hormone is testosterone.

This is why they have a lower body fat percentage and different shaped body. They do not need that layer of fat to create life like women do. They also make estrogen and progesterone but not as much.

Women’s main hormones are estrogen and progesterone with small amounts of testosterone. Progesterone is our virility and youth hormone.

Fun fact: In women, testosterone is at its highest during ovulation, which signals our biological desire for reproduction. Testosterone activates that small amount of masculine energy so we’ll feel more stimulated, motivated, and want to create more at this time.

#3: we handle stress differently

The modern world is stressful on both men and women.

The male physiology is much more resilient to stress because they have higher testosterone and lower estrogen.

This is why they are capable of excessive hard labor and can go longer periods without eating.

Their stress will also most likely show up more in their behaviors than their emotions.

Women will show stress via a symptomatic menstrual cycle or lack thereof, moods, anxiety, sleeplessness.

(Contrary to what modern society has told us, we are fortunate to have our cycle. It allows us to check in with our overall health.)

#4: we have different rhythms

There are two rhythms that run humans and nature.

Men are dictated by the circadian rhythm - the daily cycle with the sun.

This means men should feel their best in the morning when testosterone, cortisol, and adrenal hormones are at their highest. These hormones then wane with the sun and decline through the day.

Women are influenced by the circadian rhythm, but our dynamic nature mimics the monthly moon cycle - the infradian rhythm.

This 28 day rhythm is defined by the electromagnetic pull of the moon. This means that every day of that 28 day cycle* is slightly different on a physiological, or cellular level. This is why women thrive with movement, fluidity, ebb and flow, shift and change.

*28 days is ideal but a healthy cycle can be anywhere from 21-42 days.

What should we do about these differences? Let’s learn about our respective physiologies and embrace them.

Many modern men and women don’t know about their true masculine & feminine natures and how to apply it.

If you want to lean into your physiology, rhythm, & essences, here’s how you do it. You might find yourself a little bit happier for it.

At the very least, being aware of the masculine & feminine might help you navigate the stressors of modern life.

the male physiology

Men are driven by outward creation. They are concerned with provision and protection. Their basic needs are freedom and space to give.

They are meant to go out into the world, hustle, and make money.

Male hormones are impacted positively when it is dominated by these actions, with a touch of feminine energy!

the female physiology

The female physiology is more focused on internal cultivation.

Our hormones are positively impacted when dominated by the feminine energy by being, feeling, creating, with a touch of masculine energy! We are hyper focused on safety, nutrition, creation, and beauty.

We are listeners, observers, beauty seekers, feelers, nurturers, creators, healers. We desire connection, unconditional love, understanding, kindness, compassion.

We need a lot of space to receive so we can create.

Try to embody these traits below to support your physiology. Where are you masculine or feminine? Where are you balanced or imbalanced?

My ability to speak on this topic is inspired by @jessicaashwellness and my ability to put my ideas into words is inspired by @thedankoe.

I’ve recently purchased both of their courses and it’s been some of my best spent money this year. Message me if you have any questions!

All the best,

Amanda