Girlhood to Womanhood

Some may feel as though 'girlhood' as immature or inadequate term when referring to their experience as a feminine presenting person. While this may not be true for all, almost all of us agree both terms fall under the umbrella of femininity. The topic of femininity has become more diverse and inclusive over the years, which has been a beautiful thing to see. Webster defines femininity as the quality or nature of the female sex. This may not be a suitable definition but it at least gives everyone a baseline.

Femininity has become almost a religion to those who experience it. The experiences of it are seen as so universal but perception makes it different to everyone. Many feel girlhood is until you are an adult in the country you reside. In some cultures or religions girls become women when they get their first menstrual cycle. It is worth noting this argument can also be used for those with nefarious purposes. In theory, when the person get their first menstrual cycle they can begin to bear children. Forced or coerced pregnancy can be used for repopulating workers, control, or abusive partners to keep control. Thankfully not everyone/every religion believes the first menstrual cycle should/is a responsibility for immediately bearing children. This can also be seen as the beginning of value for a person as she can provide an heir for their partner. The idolization of continuing lineage is something as old as King Henry of England; Ironically recent enough a 20 something was willing to not see me anymore because I don't want children, and he wanted to continue his bloodline. In other parts of the world, certain African cultures will circumcise young women when they get their first menstrual cycle. According to reports from the National Library of Medicine, "1,830 girls under 15 years who are likely to or have undergone circumcision" (NLM). This is so the man can break the stitches on their wedding night, as a way to claim their bride. This furthers the idolization of child bearing as women in these cultures are typically expected to have children as soon as possible. This tradition is not as reported since it is typically seen as a right of passage, but is losing its traction among newer groups. It has mainly confined to select African tribes, admittedly American distinctions of girlhood and womanhood are a bit different.

In 'The States' a majority of people see girlhood as a young feminine presenting person until high school or adulthood. The distinction usually becomes more defined once the young person takes in a quality that is seen in 'adulthood'. These qualities are hopefully noticed by their legal caregiver who may decide to increase their freedom and responsibility to help ease them into the adult capitalistic world. Not every young person has family that will make the transition easy but changes in the transition will happen nonetheless. What qualities define adulthood can be subjective to everyone; just a few typical qualities are romantic interest, drivers license, or a paying job. These factors can indicate a desire or need to further their engagement in their community or independence. The federal US law states that any person under the age of 18 is considered a child. Any 'adult' title given to a person before that legal age is not lawful and shouldn't carry typical responsibilities with it. We are able to have seen the privilege of choice due to the feminist who fought for our rights of protection. These fights began with fighting for child labor, so capitalism wouldn't run our children into the ground. This set the stage for a federal law protecting a set age group of young and vulnerable minorities, while also giving the rights to families to best prepare their children for adulthood.

This in mind the line between girlhood and woman is blurred when they both are viewed under femininity. This umbrella theory of femininity treats it like a verb instead of the Webster defined noun. The experience theory allows it to be split between experiences of woman hood and girl hood. The line between girlhood and womanhood will always need to be extremely defined to those who view femininity as a voyager. The personal lines drawn into the sand will be different with each person. I have experienced girl hood giggling with my friends at a bonfire. I experience womanhood when I walk into our marketing team and see the women I get to aspire to become. I experienced girl hood when my friend and I gave each other motherly advice, since ours were pre-occupied. I experienced woman hood when I had to help raise my siblings, even if this wasn't the best experience of it. Each society will have a physical age at which they determine adulthood begins and childhood ends. Mentality and mental health will always contradict our physical age, because everyone's perception will be very dependent on our upbringings. When considering these differences in regards to relationships with others, it's important to be considerate of any power imbalances the relationship may present.

A wise man said if you have to do math to figure out is someone is too young then they are absolutely too young. This applies to those who may question or wonder about the line between girlhood or womanhood when considering connections they may make to feminine presenting people. This applies to women who are wondering where they can find glimmer of girlhood, in womanhood full of responsibilities and mature communication. I felt very compelled to write this after hearing strong criticism for masculine and feminine energies, with some claiming it is repackaged misogyny. These critics suggest these 'energy' references just regurgitate the same traditional gender norms even Hitler himself believed. A deeper comparison of these would be a full article in itself! A short answer though for me, would be that I think masculine energy in this context is just womanhood misnamed. This is a simplified comparison but the analogy applies just the same, it may also give solace to anyone who feels they need a masculine energy.

The responsibility of living and being and participating in your community is not split between gender lines. The weight of both of these things is heavy which is why many people focus on one. If people try and balance both of these things and working their 'paying' job then they may not find enough time. It is almost like we should have more benefits that make balancing all these things easier, systems in place that make participating in local government easier, and more open communication about the strain late stage capitalism has on the communities it was intended to support....but that's just me being radical. Whether you fell into the same decisive stance I did or feel as though age knows all, we should thank feminist for being able to discuss at all.