Schizoid Ladies: Do you appear less feminine?

Appearance wise I don't wear make up. I don't see a point to it since I don't generally care what others think about the way I look. I do keep up on personal hygiene and pluck my eyebrows. I never dress differently for different occasions. It's usually just a t shirt and jeans.

Mannerisms: I am not as sociable as most females I suppose. I spend a lot more time alone and focus more on things such as piano and reading. I tend to be more emotionally detached and void of feeling. Usual conversations bore me especially gossip.

Rainsworth wrote:Hello,

Since SPD is more common in Males than Females, which is not surprising at all considering the fact that SPD symptoms go more hand-in-hand with Male personality characteristics.
and since i'm a Man myself, i don't know what it's like to be a Schizoid Woman, so i've been wondering and thinking about this subject.

Schizoid Women, Do you appear less feminine than the average Neurotypical Female? do you think SPD, or the Schizoid nature, affects the individual's femininity?

Share your thoughts!

Thoughts from me (I'm a male).........

I just wanted to chime in on this one and say that I really don't believe Schizoid ladies are going to have a predisposition to appear less feminine. Though, they have more of a predisposition to leading a very independent, single lifestyle (that I would consider a masculine trait). However, we all have our masculine and feminine traits, regardless.

If a Schizoid lady also has a case of Paranoid Personality Disorder along with Schizoid Personality Disorder, the likelihood of leading a very independent, single lifestyle will further increase. This lady could be pursued for dating and what not, but that doesn't change the reality of the situation here. You have to factor in the personality disorders present. This is the type of lady that will have a good chance of being single for life (in this particular scenario). She could be an extremely attractive lady...and others can be baffled by her being single.

So...the sex differences aren't as important as some might think (regarding Schizoid Personality Disorder or Paranoid Personality Disorder).

I've only got my sister to go off on this one.

My sister is appears to have feminine genes, but the way she dresses herself and carries herself doesn't add extra displays of feminine connectivity.

She has all this expensive make up and pretty girly things, but only puts it on every now and then on those rare days she doesn't even go outside. She just finds all the pretty things interesting for some time and I remember seeing her fully doled herself up then bumming around in the house.

I suspects she collects expensive handbags and dresses just because they look beautiful but doesn't have much incentive to wear them outside. She has a whole wardrobe of ridiculous fancy heels and I've never seen her wear them outside, not even once.

On days when she is going out, she dresses for comfort. Comfortable shoes, the same comfortable pants. No make up at all. She has this dorky old lady hat that keeps the sun out. It's not like she doesn't know how to make herself look like a model. She only does it when it interests her for whatever reason. It might be because she struggled with OCD for years, and simplifying the going outside routine with the same comfortable clothes became a habit? That's my guess for her behavior.

She also has a "masculine" hug. It's funny when she hugs and she does that pat on the back thing, like "there there it's time to let go of me". She is tiny and has a very girly face but her hugging style is exactly like my father. Even her mannerisms are quite similar to my father.

Also she lacks that submissiveness and flattery. She will not laugh at a lame joke to make someone feel comfortable, she will not say sorry if she is in the right.

I don't think she is less feminine though. I think she is uncompromisingly herself and has no interest in appearing anymore feminine than she already is. Anymore anything than what she is actually. I think it kind of runs in the family.

all the schizoid ladies
all the schizoid ladies
if you were indifferent to it you might have blankly looked at it

I am petite and definitely female looking in my features and figure, but I don't feel feminine. Even though I have long hair, wear make-up, sometimes skirts, etc. When I see other women I often feel I lack something.
I don't think I'm bad looking, as time goes by. But I don't think I'm "attractive".
I mostly wear a *uniform* of jeans and a top. I find fashion confusing and expensive. Never had manicures, wear minimal make-up as that's all I know how to do.

Yes. I don't see the point in wasting my time and money on make-up and getting my hair styled and wearing uncomfortable clothes just to conform to someone else's idea of what a person of my gender should look like.

So I'm not inherently less feminine but I don't put on any of the affectations that ultra-feminine women do in order to attract men.

I rarely leave the house, but when I do I'm told I look very nice. I'd describe myself as a moderately feminine woman. Not overly so. I wear dresses and makeup and things. I wasn't very girly as a child or teenager. Most of my clothes were gifted or come from the thrift-store. I didn't learn how to do a proper cateye until most of my friends were in college. (Sometimes I get wild and light a vanilla candle!)

The 5% of the time I'm not in my pajamas, it's not because I'm purposely trying to look attractive or conform to some ultra-womanly ideal. It's the routine of picking out clothes, applying makeup, washing up, etc. that psychologically prepares me to enter society.

Makeup has a lot of rote and tedious little steps to it, and putting on certain kinds of clothes strengthens my relationship with my body on days I'm feeling very depersonalized. A bit like exercise. When I'm done, I'm left in this vague state of "being ready", therefore I have to "do" something about it. Make sense?

I was told once that I 'would make a good man'.
I think the inarticulate person saying this considered my 'hardline' approach at work as being masculine / borderline aggressive. I was at that time ( some years ago), impatient and intolerant of sloppy work standards and co-workers not giving a 100%, as I did. Now I just suck it up, rather than react.
A selective and unpredictable empathy can also make me appear more masculine. I am not as sentimental as most women about particular topics.
However voice and demeanor appear outwardly gentle, therefore feminine.

i think SPD can definitely affect how "feminine" one appears in terms of societal standards, since femininity tends to be associated with submission, material excess, etc. I wouldn't call myself submissive by any means, nor am i excessive with superficial things (besides maybe those i consider beautiful/appreciate for artistry's sake). I definitely care less about my appearance than the average female my age does, since i'm not trying to impress anyone. in general, if SPD makes a woman less likely to conform to social standards, of course they'll appear less traditionally feminine.

biologically, perhaps its worth noting that i take more after my father than mother -- blunt features (jawline, cheekbones, eyebrows) and a more "masculine" gait, in the sense that i don't walk around looking demure or petite despite being 5'3". but i'd take that with a grain of salt, since i'm also gay (in whatever way my gray asexuality allows) and research suggests that sexuality is a product of hormones in the womb. i'd guess my slightly more masculine characteristics are a product of that, rather than SPD. it's an interesting question, though.

I think women are expected to care a lot about what others think of them, especially in regards to their appearance and demeanor. I cut my own hair with clippers and don't wear makeup, I keep myself clean and neat enough in appearance to not draw unwanted attention. Have I been called manly? Yes. I am tall and have a deeper voice and I don't like smiling. I also use plain speech. This has always seemed like an absurd distinction to me.

I do not like the attention if my appearance is too 'manly' or 'unusual', however, so I keep it to a limit. I find that in and of itself annoying. Gender is useless, to me.