feminine.

I've been thinking about femininity and womanhood a lot lately.

Being female does not mean (or require by any means) needing to wear dresses, makeup or be obsessed with pink. In fact, the most feminine people I know are completely the opposite of that, and may arguably be on the edge of "tomboy"-ish. It's about their demeanor.

Not going to lie, I'm a Girl's Girl. This might be because I didn't have a sister growing up or any young female cousins (however, I got two charming little brothers who light up my life).

I respect and love being a woman. According to a highly intelligent source - i.e. Urban Dictionary - a Girl's Girl is "not petty, and strives to be ethical and decent in her dealings with her female friends."

Womanhood is something to be explored, respected and fascinated by. To me, womanhood is finding the strength in femininity, your heart, your voice, your attitude, your mind, your gut...and living it to the 5,000th per cent. It's pursuing life exactly the way you want to, with no apologies.

I personally like working and tapping into my sensual femininity and am pleased to work in a city and society that takes (and respects) this. The moment I dropped what expectations I thought others needed to have of me, my life changed. I was able to become the woman I am. This took a really long time, but it's also part of growing up.

That being said, I love men and do admire the masculine in many ways. We are raised in a culture that praises the masculine attitudes, and thus, the softness in both sexes is often overlooked.

The feminine and masculine need each other to balance. Without the men I've met, lived with, dated and adored, I wouldn't know the strength of my femininity.

In my opinion, it's the relationships one builds with women that supports and fosters feminine growth. These are with our mothers, aunts, friends, their mother's, babysitters, teachers...the woman before us who paved the path. It's up to us to continue the maintenance and build the next bridge.

What do you think? How do you define womanhood?

Just a thought.