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HelpRe: question - what is the difference between feminine and frilly?
in reply to a message by darrengregory
"Frills" don't have anything to do with "weakness," do they?
It might be an unfeminist stereotype to equate them with each other, or with femininity, IMO.
Frilly doesn't mean silly, it just means ... seeming embellished, something like that, in a not-frivolous way, but sometimes with a frivolous effect. Like literal frills on a garment. They can be appropriate and dignified, and they also can be silly or contrived.
... and frivolous can be good or bad too, because it can mean inane, but also playful. These are just possible aspects of femininity ... and also possible aspects of masculinity, but I usually use other words for man-names (frilly = stuffy, pretentious, foppish; frivolous = glib, slick, chipper, puppyish)
As someone said, feminine usually just means "presumed female" but it can also mean something about an impression of an energy, sexiness, bearing, etc that is particular to females.
Names that are weak just sound weak (if I liked them, I might choose to say they are breezy or delicate). Imogen, May ... Milo, Ambrose. Weak is gender-neutral!
Frilly is usually but not always feminine, and about half the time it's neutral or positive.
Names I like that seem frilly: Raffaella, Jessamine, Charmaine, Priscilla, Demetrius, Sebastian
Names I don't like that are frilly: Primrose, Belphoebe, Clementina, boy Darcy
- mirfak
It might be an unfeminist stereotype to equate them with each other, or with femininity, IMO.
Frilly doesn't mean silly, it just means ... seeming embellished, something like that, in a not-frivolous way, but sometimes with a frivolous effect. Like literal frills on a garment. They can be appropriate and dignified, and they also can be silly or contrived.
... and frivolous can be good or bad too, because it can mean inane, but also playful. These are just possible aspects of femininity ... and also possible aspects of masculinity, but I usually use other words for man-names (frilly = stuffy, pretentious, foppish; frivolous = glib, slick, chipper, puppyish)
As someone said, feminine usually just means "presumed female" but it can also mean something about an impression of an energy, sexiness, bearing, etc that is particular to females.
Names that are weak just sound weak (if I liked them, I might choose to say they are breezy or delicate). Imogen, May ... Milo, Ambrose. Weak is gender-neutral!
Frilly is usually but not always feminine, and about half the time it's neutral or positive.
Names I like that seem frilly: Raffaella, Jessamine, Charmaine, Priscilla, Demetrius, Sebastian
Names I don't like that are frilly: Primrose, Belphoebe, Clementina, boy Darcy
- mirfak
This message was edited 10/18/2016, 12:24 AM
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