Skip to content

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.”