Movement and gender

Plenty of resources on body movement already exist. Image consultants sometimes help with this, too. Here are the basics, in my opinion.

For “feminine” movement

  • Watch other women who are your age, size, ethnicity, and socioeconomic peers. Take cues from them.
  • Smile and laugh when appropriate.
  • Have good posture, but don’t be rigid.
  • Keep your knees together and elbows in.
  • Hold your head up– don’t crouch down or hunch your back.
  • Broad shoulders look worse when hunched forward than pulled back.
  • Listen carefully to what people are saying.
  • Look people in the eyes when listening and talking.
  • People pick up on your insecurity. Just try to be friendly and confident, and you’ll do fine.
  • Taking dancing classes, yoga, gymnastics, and working on flexibility can be a nice way to improve your confidence when moving.

For “masculine” movement

  • Watch other men who are your age, size, ethnicity, and socioeconomic peers. Take cues from them.
  • Don’t look at the ground when walking.
  • Shoulders back, chest out, chin up.
  • Have your elbows out.
  • Let your arms swing.
  • Walk with your palms facing back.
  • Take longer strides.
  • Try not to have your hips sway side to side.
  • Let your shoulders sway side to side.
  • Taking a martial arts course can help with confidence.
  • Be a little more loose-limbed.

Resources

For those wanting more practical information, please check out these resources:

Movement Sphere (movementsphere.com)

Lucille Sorella (lucillesorella.com)

Girlskill (girlskill.com)

  • Anna Rova’s femininity coaching service

The Man Effect (themaneffect.com)

  • Men’s image consulting by Patrick

PIVOT (pivotimage.com)

  • Patrick Kenger’s men’s image consultancy

This motion capture animation shows a spectrum of gaits from 100% “feminine” to 100% “masculine.”