I have taken a few examples from the excellent Font Garden website to show characteristics deemed “masculine,” “androgynous,” and “feminine.” These fonts are great for showing allographic characteristics of each letter, and what makes letter formation “masculine” or feminine.”
Please note that deeming someone or something “masculine” or “feminine” is arbitrary and based on social custom. Not everyone would agree with my arbitrary assessments below.
This one is by a woman, but it is so illegible many people would probably rate this as āmasculine.āThis one would probably be rated āmasculineā because of the uneven lengths of the tails on j, g, and y. Note also how the ascenders have uneven vertical heights, and the m has a much lower x-height than the others.This āandrogynousā sample is probably by a left-handed writer (note the backward slant). What makes this feel āfeminineā is the n and h shapes on the right side of the arch. See how itās not a straight downstroke? Also, the counters are quite large in most vowels and closed letters.Though the y is very āfeminineā here, the backward slant on the land h, and the lowerx-height of the r would weigh this towards āmasculine.āThis one of the more “androgynous” of the samples here. There is a real consistency in shape and slant of letters, which makes this feel very āfeminine.ā Note how the arched letters like m, n, and rare not very rounded, but angle up and then turn sharply downward. That’s a little more “masculine.”
