Internalized misogyny
I'm not sure if this is the right place to post. Is it internalised misogyny if I struggle with my gender. As in disagreeing with it, yet feeling the urge to prove my femininity? For example, I'm not into some norms like dresses yet sometimes it feels like I need to wear them to feel "woman" enough or exercise my femininity. It's like the same way when a man can easily be stripped of their status of being seen as a man, except this time as a woman. Like if I don't act in some ways, I might be forgotten. If a man is downgraded, they have a status to fall under, but women tend to be forgotten and excluded when they don't meet some criteria. I don't like a lot of expectations that come from my gender but I do them sometimes because of fear of exclusion or being a target. Are there any studies, books or advice on understanding or coping with this? I'm cis, I just don't feel comfortable with some things because they usually come from either competing with other women or trying to attract men or being submissive. I'm not interested in all of them, I just want to be myself without being seen as less than for doing so. This doesn't apply to everything related to being female, just the norm of where I am.