Every single human on this planet has two energies living within them that are commonly referred to as the masculine and the feminine. Not exactly accurate names according to new scientific studies, but they are an easy way to remember the values of each energy and how we can harness them to live a more fulfilled life.
The traditional view of masculine and feminine energy is very black and white. If you are a man, you are considered to be masculine, and if you are a woman, you are considered to be feminine.
You might be or know women who are more masculine and men who are more feminine. However, this is still not fully accepted in our society and is often looked down upon. Many men feel ashamed for being called a feminine man and women being called masculine. This outdated and inadequate mindset has lead to a tremendous imbalance, both internally in our lives, as well as externally in our world.
Many of us do not embrace the natural strengths that we possess for fear of not being accepted. The idea of all men being masculine and women being feminine is broken - some men and women will fall into the stereotypical classification. There are men with masculine energy being their strength and women with feminine energy being their strength. The traditional viewpoint is still valid. However, being a man with feminine energy or a woman with masculine energy is NOT a weakness. It’s a strength. We learn how to nurture the strengths of both energies in ourselves and see them in others.
A unique mosaic of masculine and feminine.
A new way of thinking suggests that hormonal differences play a very small part in why we are the way we are. Research conducted by Daphna Joel, a professor of neuroscience at Tel Aviv University, has found that we are all a mosaic of masculine and feminine features. Joel analysed the brain scans of more than 1400 men and women and failed to find consistent differences between the sexes. Instead she found that we are all a unique mixture of male and female features.
Her study discovered that between zero and eight percent of people had all male or all female brains. The vast majority of people were somewhere in the middle, showing that gender isn’t binary – we are all a blend.
A better definition of Masculine and Feminine
For years it was believed that men and women’s brains are wired differently – ‘Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus’ idea – but now a growing body of research shows that neurologically we are all a mixture of both masculine and feminine traits.
Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, a psychologist at Cambridge University, believes that we are all on a spectrum between Empathisers or Systemisers:
Systemisers are people who enjoy breaking down and analysing systems, focusing closely on one task – describes the concept of masculine energy.
Empathisers are great at empathising with others and communicating well—describes the concept of feminine energy.
According to Baron-Cohen’s research:
44 percent of women have empathising brains
17 percent of women have systemising brains and
35 percent of women have brains that are roughly balanced between the two poles
So far as men are concerned, Baron-Cohen found that
53 percent of men have systemising brains
17 percent have empathising brains, and
24 percent are roughly balanced
6 percent have an extreme male brain.
Apparently, these differences are created in the womb according to how much testosterone you are exposed to as a fetus. Lots of testosterone in your mother’s womb causes your brain to develop a Systemised approach to life. Less testosterone in the womb leads to an Empathising approach.
What do you think you are? There are a heap of free personality tests on the interwebs, I used this one and discovered I was an Empathiser. I’d love to hear what your dominant energy is, drop me an email or DM on the socials when you do it, and if it was different from what you thought.
Linda x
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