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Sissy

Sissy (derived from Sister), also sissy baby, sissy boy, sissy man, sissy pants, etc., is a pejorative term for a Boy or Man who does not demonstrate Masculine traits, and shows signs of Fragility.

Generally, sissy implies a lack of:

• Courage
• Strength
• Athleticism
• Coordination
• Testosterone
• Male libido
• Stoicism

A man might also be considered a sissy for:

• Enjoying Feminine hobbies or Feminine employment (e.g., Fashion)
• Displaying Effeminate behavior (e.g., using Hair products, Hydrating products, or Limp wrists)
• Being Unathletic
• Being Homosexual

Sissy is, approximately, the male converse of Tomboy (a girl with masculine traits), but carries more negative connotations. In some circles, especially Generation Z, highly effeminate males are called Femboys (feminine boys), a term intended to avoid negative connotation.

Affectionate diminutive

Sissy is also used as a Term of endearment or diminutive for the name Cecilia. This use dates to at least the 19th century and is referenced in Charles Dickens' Hard Times: For These Times. This affectionate use has declined as the pejorative sense has risen.Template:Citation needed

History and usage

The term has been widely used as a negative label among School children, implying Immaturity and Gender or sexual deviance. In the UK, it has been identified as Sexist language and compared to Homophobic or Racist slurs.

Alternatives proposed include:

• Gender creative
• Pink boy
• Tomgirl

Internationally, the Japanese term Bishōnen ("beautiful youth") and the Korean term Kkonminam ("flower boy") are also used to describe gentle or feminine boys in more neutral ways.

Sissy originally meant Sister in American English (1840s). Its pejorative use emerged in the 1880s. The verb sissify appeared by the early 1900s.

In the 1930s, "sissy" became the worst insult for American boys, especially in Sports and Gang culture. Good students were mocked as sissies, and upper-class clothing styles were deemed Sissified.

Cultural references

By the 1980s, some men began reclaiming the word. The spelling cissy was used in British English before the 1970s.

In the 2014 South Park episode "The Cissy", the term was inverted to critique Transphobia in school restroom debates.

International concerns over masculinity

In China:

• 2018: State media criticized "sissy pants" youth as a threat to National strength.
• 2021: The Ministry of Education promoted Masculinity training.
• The National Radio and Television Administration banned "sissy men" and abnormal esthetics using the term Niang pao.

In gender and LGBTQ studies

The term is central to several academic works:

• The "Sissy Boy Syndrome" and the Development of Homosexuality by Richard Green (1987) studied Cross-gender behavior in boys.
• Sissyphobia is the cultural fear or hatred of effeminate men.

Other proposed terms:

• Effeminiphobia
• Femiphobia
• Femmephobia
• Effemimania

Scholars like Gregory M. Herek and Shinsuke Eguchi argue that sissyphobia is a mix of Misogyny and Homophobia. Michael Kimmel wrote, "masculinity has historically been defined as the flight from women and the repudiation of femininity."

In sexual subcultures

In BDSM:

• A sissy is often a male submissive in Forced feminization scenes, including Cross-dressing and enforced Chastity.
• A Sissy baby is an adult man playing the role of a Baby girl within Paraphilic infantilism.

See also

• Butch and femme
• Cuckoldry as a fetish
• Effeminacy
• Feminization (activity)
• Girly girl
• Gynecocracy
• Lavender Scare
• Molly house
• Pinafore eroticism
• Queer heterosexuality
• Sexism
• Sissy villain
• Tomboy
• Toxic masculinity
• Trans bashing
• Transphobia

Further reading

• Padva, Gilad and Talmon, Miri (2008). Gotta Have An Effeminate Heart: The Politics of Effeminacy and Sissyness in a Nostalgic Israeli TV Musical. Feminist Media Studies 8(1), 69–84.
• Padva, Gilad (2005). Radical Sissies and Stereotyped Fairies in Laurie Lynd's The Fairy Who Didn't Want To Be A Fairy Anymore. Cinema Journal 45(1), 66–78.
• Katz, Kock, Ortmann, Schenk, Weiss (2011). Sissy Boyz: Queer Performance. thealit FRAUEN.KULTUR.LABOR, Bremen.

External links

• The dictionary definition of sissy at Wiktionary

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