To wonder what ‘living as a woman’ means?

It's a load of old bollocks.

There is no 'woman feeling' or ' woman essence'.

I live as a human being. I know I am a woman because I was born female and have survived till adulthood.

This means was discriminated against as a young woman because of presumptions made about my reproductive capabilites and status.

I then birthed two humans and took a hit on my earning capacity as a result of the reality of the fact that my biology allowed me to do to so.

Now on the cusp of 50 I'm of the sex of humans that's pretty invisible these days and then on top of that I have a pesky thing to deal with called menopause.

All of the things that make me a woman are based on biology.

The rest of it is being human and personality and stereotypes (or lack of them in my case)

There's millions of ways to live as a woman.because there's millions of us on this planet and we are all individuals.

And yethere's really only one common single defining factor that we all shsre and that is actually being a woman.

Because if you're not then clearly you have no way of living as one.

Living as a woman is having a feminine sounding name on your gas bill.

Thassorl.

But I don’t think people do “think they have to live as a man or a woman” unless of course you’re referring to very conservative societies or countries where women have no voice or power.

It doesn't mean anything because being a woman isn't something you do, or perform, its just your biological reality.

If youre a woman then however you live is living as a woman. If youre a man then however you live is living as a man.

This annoys me so much. I'm definitely a woman but I don't wear makeup . My daughters liked dinosaurs on their clothes, played with toy trains and never wore pink. I actually once had an argument with the sales person in Next because my daughter chose wellies from the 'boys' section and the sales person kept directing her to the girls section.

And now 18 years on I suppose my daughter should be a trans boy due to this new way of thinking. It's so regressive. What was the point in fighting for boys and girls to be equal and toys to be unisex.

@HaveYouActuallyDoneAnyWashingThisWeekMum why? In essence I am gender critical. It irritates me that people are caught up in gender stereotypes but I think to some extent we are all a little caught up in it. . Perhaps I have not explained that well enough. I just wish people cared less about what is expected and then perhaps people would be comfortable and not feel they have to 'live as ' a man or a woman.

No it isn't. You only know what it feels like to be you.

If you are male (apologies if you are not but it sounds like you are), do you not understand how arrogant it is to attempt to redefine the only word we have to refer to the female half of the human population as "the way I personally feel inside"?

I’m surprised by what you’ve written because it sounds like a viewpoint from pre 1970s Britain.

What would be the point? Neither the good nor the bad parts can be identified into.

Some good responses here.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5357452-living-as-a-woman?page=1

You get challenged about using women’s toilets?

I’m also nearly six feet tall and there is no way I ‘enjoy male privilege’. It’s very obvious from my body shape and the way that I move that I am female. And have endured the street harassment and catcalling in accordance with that perception.

Doesn't everyone know it's lippy, high heels, passing Tampax to the lady next cubicle in the loo and pillow fights whilst wearing underwear?

There are as many ways of “living as a woman” as there are adult human females on planet Earth, which is around 4 billion.

A man can’t “live as a woman” even if he emulated the life, behaviour, speech and clothing style of every single one of these 4 billion women. It’s impossible - because a man is not a woman and can never become a woman.

I read an article interviewing someone who identified as trans woman who wore dresses but kept a full beard and proclaimed that they were expanding the definition of what it means to be a woman. No! Why not frame it as expanding the definition of what it means to be a man?! Be a man who wears a dress, has a Rachel haircut and wears high heels. Why change the definition of women to include men rather than accepting you cannot change biology but you can wear, act and be called whatever you want. Is it so bad to be a "feminine" man that it's preferable to rewrite biology.

🔺️Misogyny 🔺️

Interesting thread. Most of the time there’s no difference in how you live - men and women in this country could live similar lives or even interchangeable lives. The difference is physical, biological and hormonal and that’s it.

It means living as a dated stereotype of a woman.

This is always the crucial and uncomfortable question isnt it.

Imagine how offensive it is to say 'Im living as a black person'. What the hell does that even mean, unless of course I pile in with a load of stereotypes about 'black people' (whatever that also means)

And in actual fact, race is not a linear, polarised biology within us, we arent one ethnicity or another within our DNA and chromosomes because we are a mixture of all our forebears.

That is not the same as sex, because there is only one or the other sex, you cant be a bit of this or a bit of that.

So I can call myself whatever ethnicity I like cant I? I can say Im living as a 'chinese person' and you cant challenge me on it. I just feel I am ok. Its just whats within me! Im being my true self.

Women can be butch and men can be feminine, and everything in between.

I really admire camp men and masculine women who are comfortable in themselves, as the sex they are without feeling the need to change anything. Great role models for gender non confirming kids.

No idea what 'living as a woman' is meant to mean, but i agree that 99% of men dressing up as women either seem to go for the Margret Thatcher vibe or the 'prostitute touting for business at the kerb' look 🧐

As if that's what's normal ?

living as a woman starts in childhood, norms and expectations, and day to day life experiences including menses breasts and growth spurts.
as an adult how you choose to express yourself is up to you, but the experience of growing up as a girl in this world starts at birth and forms and influences us. you just can't step into the role.

The only way to live as a woman is to be born a human female and survive to adulthood.

If society was more relaxed about what the sexes do or wear or look like perhaps people would be more relaxed.

This is exactly what gender critical means. Critical of gender stereotypes. Many women want to move away from those stereotypes because they are regressive and harmful to everyone but most especially to women.

If you cut a dog's nuts off it doesn't magically become a bitch...