Is There a Feminine Equivalent of the Concept of Emasculation? (If there isn’t why?)
Is there an equivalent of the word emasculate, for women? A word that truly captures and equals what the concept of emasculation is for women the way it is for men? If there is, I’d like to know. I’d also like to know why the concept is not as known or as emphasized the way the word emasculation is for men.
Google lists emasculation as an action that deprives a man of his masculine role. Gratefully, our computers and cell phones these days show us thoughts we either voice out or consider silently and so to my surprise and non-surprise, the next thing listed beneath the search of emasculate was is there a female version of the word emasculate? the answer which was not exhaustive said that the secondary meaning of the word emasculate is to weaken a person and so I guess that by syllogistic reasoning, women fit into the description of people/persons and so they can be emasculated as well. Do not forget that the primary meaning of the word is listed and defined with men only as the focus. In simple terms, the word applies solely to men, was created with them in mind, and sometimes can apply to women, well, when it matters or as an afterthought. A few online forums suggested the word defeminize, as a version intended for feminine audiences. Again, defeminize does not address the core of what emasculate means as a word. You should check.
Fresh Water, Akwaeke Emezi’s debut novel, forced me to come to terms with the power of naming and how it validates experiences. A degree in English, a fairly healthy reading, online and in-person engagement routine have not given me as much of a sense that women’s feelings and roles are as important or as highlighted. The way men’s have. If for nothing at all, my knowledge as a woman of the word emasculation designed to cater to men’s feelings where I am ignorant of a similar word (considering my gender, age and demographic) designed for men with the sole aim of catering to my feelings as a woman is exactly what the problem is. And yet, I am a black woman who has had some education and presumably some exposure to topical issues, and yet, here I am solely aware of the concept of emasculation ( how to cater to a man’s emotions ) and ignorant of a similar idea for women. In Emezi’s novel, the narrative voice says ‘whatever I give a name becomes real.’ A word becoming real hinges on its existence first of, its use and then its entrenchment in our psyches to such an extent that we play them out and describe them / label or define them where appropriate.
I have a man friend who goes on frequent dinners with his female friend. They have a rotational form of payment for dinner that they honor. When he has to pay, he just pays. When she has to, she hands her card over to him to pay.
Does this word and its very existence translate to the idea that only men’s emotions and or roles are important? What are these men’s roles that need to be honored and protected? Why do women have the unsolicited burden of not emasculating men? Do men feel the same and are they taught not to emasculate women? Is there such a thing as feeling emasculated as a woman? In what areas of life do women feel emasculated?
