''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 Masculinity (also called manhood or manliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as socially constructed, and there is also evidence that some behaviors con ...

traits, and shows possible signs of fragility. Generally, ''sissy'' implies a lack of

courage Courage (also called bravery or valor) is the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Valor is courage or bravery, especially in battle. Physical courage is bravery in the face of physical pain, h ...

strength Strength may refer to: Physical strength *Physical strength, as in people or animals *Hysterical strength, extreme strength occurring when people are in life-and-death situations *Superhuman strength, great physical strength far above human ca ...

, athleticism,

coordination Coordination may refer to: * Coordination (linguistics), a compound grammatical construction * Coordination complex, consisting of a central atom or ion and a surrounding array of bound molecules or ions * Coordination number or ligancy of a centr ...

, testosterone, male libido, and stoicism. A man might also be considered a sissy for being interested in typically

feminine Femininity (also called womanliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as socially constructed, and there is also some evidence that some behaviors considered fe ...

hobbies or employment (e.g., being fond of fashion), displaying effeminate behavior (e.g., using hair products, hydrating products, or displaying limp wrists), being unathletic or being

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

. ''Sissy'' is, approximately, the male converse of ''

tomboy A tomboy is a term for a girl or a young woman with masculine qualities. It can include wearing androgynous or unfeminine clothing and actively engage in physical sports or other activities and behaviors usually associated with boys or men. Wh ...

'' (a girl with masculine traits or interests), but carries more strongly negative connotations. Research published in 2015 suggests that the terms are asymmetrical in their power to stigmatize: ''sissy'' is almost always pejorative and conveys greater severity, while ''tomboy'' rarely causes as much concern but also elicits pressure to conform to social expectations.Compton, D. and Knox, E. (2015), "Sissies and tomboys." ''The International Encyclopedia of Human Sexuality,'' pp 1115–1354 In some communities, especially ones whose members are prominently part of

Generation Z Generation Z (or more commonly Gen Z for short), colloquially known as zoomers, is the Western world, Western demography, demographic Cohort (statistics), cohort succeeding Millennials and preceding Generation Alpha. Researchers and popular me ...

, highly effeminate males are referred to as " femboys" (feminine boy), a term which aims to provide a way to refer to effeminate males without negative connotations.

Affectionate diminutive

''Sissy'' is also a term of endearment used as a diminutive for the female given name Cecilia. Its usage as a diminutive for Cecilia dates back to at least the late 19th century. Its usage is explicitly called out in Charles Dickens' '' Hard Times: For These Times''. However, it has since fallen out of favor, coinciding with the rise in its usage as a pejorative.

History and usage

The term ''sissy'' has historically been used among school children as a "relentlessly negative" insult, implying immaturity and gender or sexual deviance. It has been identified as

sexist Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primaril ...

in guidance issued to schools in the United Kingdom and described as "just as unacceptable as racist and homophobic language." The terms ''gender creative'', ''pink boy'', and ''tomgirl'' have been suggested as polite alternatives. The Japanese word ' (literally "beautiful youth") and the Korean word ' (literally "flower boy") are also polite terms for a man or boy with gentle or feminine attributes. The word ''sissy'' in its original meaning of "sister" entered American English around 1840–1850 and acquired its pejorative meaning around 1885–1890; the verb ''sissify'' appeared in 1900–1905. In comparison, the word ''tomboy'' is approximately three centuries older, dating to 1545–1555. By the 1930s, "there was no more damning insult than to be called a ''sissy''" and the word was widely used by American football coaches and sports writers to disparage rival teams and encourage ferocious player behavior. The use of the word ''sissy'' was "ubiquitous" among delinquent American youth of the 1930s; the term was used to provoke boys to join gangs, demean boys who violated group norms, force compliance with the mandates of masculinity, and justify violence (including sexual violence) against younger and weaker children.Grant, J. (2014), '' The Boy Problem: Educating Boys in Urban America 1870-1970''. Johns Hopkins University Press, New York, pp. 143-144. . Good students were taunted as sissies and clothing styles associated with higher social classes were demeaned as ''sissified.'' Among members of a Detroit, Michigan youth gang in 1938–39, ''sissy'' was "the ultimate slur" used to tease and taunt other boys, as a rationalization for violence against rivals, and as an excuse for not observing the dicta of middle-class decorum and morality. By the late 1980s, some men began to reclaim the term ''sissy'' for themselves. The spelling variation ''cissy'' was used in British English, at least prior to the mid 1970s. In the United States, the Comedy Central television series ''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...

'' inverted its meaning in a 2014 episode titled " The Cissy", which lampooned the controversy over transgender students' use of school restrooms; in the episode, a restroom initially designated for use by transgender students is later re-designated as "the cissy bathroom" for use by transphobic cisgender students.

As threats to masculine dominance

Men who display feminine characteristics are sometimes perceived as threats to masculine power. For example, in 2018, official Chinese state media derided "sissy pants" young men (who use makeup, are slender, and wear androgynous clothing) as part of a "sickly" culture that threatened the future of the nation by undermining its militaristic image. In 2021, China's Ministry of Education issued guidelines for the "cultivation of students' masculinity" to "prevent the feminization of male adolescents" through sports, physical education, and "health education" in schools. In 2021, the

National Radio and Television Administration The National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) is a ministry-level executive agency controlled by the Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Its main task is the administration and supervision of state-owned enterp ...

of China added a ban on "sissy men and other abnormal esthetics" to its rules using the offensive term .

In gender and LGBT studies

In his ''The "Sissy Boy Syndrome" and the Development of Homosexuality'' (1987), the sexologist Richard Green compared two groups of boys: one group was conventionally masculine; the other group, who Green called "feminine boys" and other children called "sissy", engaged in doll play and other behavior typical for girls. In his 15-year longitudinal study, Green looked at cross-gender behavior in boys who later turned out to be transgender, or homosexual as well as a control group, and analyzed such features as interest in sports, playroom toy preferences, doll-play fantasy, physical behavior ("acting like a girl" vs

rough-and-tumble play Rough-and-tumble play, also called play fighting, is a form of play where participants compete with one another attempting to obtain certain advantages (such as biting or pushing the opponent onto the ground), but play in this way without the seve ...

cross-dressing Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes usually worn by a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and self-express oneself. Cross-dressing has play ...

, and psychological behavior, using tests, questionnaires, interviews, and follow-ups. He also looked at the influence of parental relationships and reaction to atypical behavior. Later follow-ups found that, ultimately, of the feminine or "sissy" boys developed into gay or bisexual men, whereas only one of the control group did. Analysis of the nature/nurture issue was inconclusive. The term ''sissyphobia'' denotes a negative cultural reaction against "sissy boys" thought prevalent in 1974. Sissyphobia has more recently been used in some

queer studies Queer studies, sexual diversity studies, or LGBT studies is the education of topics relating to sexual orientation and gender identity usually focusing on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender dysphoria, asexual, queer, questioning, inte ...

; other authors in this latter area have proposed ''

effeminiphobia Effeminacy is the embodiment of traits and/or expressions in those who are not of the female sex (e.g. boys and men) that are often associated with what is generally perceived to be feminine behaviours, mannerisms, styles, or gender roles, rathe ...

,'' ''femiphobia,'' ''femmephobia,'' or ''

effemimania ''Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity'' is a 2007 book by the gender theorist, biologist, and writer Julia Serano. The book is a transfeminist manifesto that makes the case that transphobia is rooted i ...

'' as alternative terms. Gregory M. Herek wrote that sissyphobia arises as a combination of misogyny and

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...

. Communication scholar Shinsuke Eguchi (2011) stated:

The discourse of straight-acting produces and reproduces anti-femininity and homophobia (Clarkson. 2006). For example, feminine gay men are often labeled "fem," "bitchy," "pissy," "sissy," or "queen" (e.g., Christian, 2005; Clarkson, 2006; Payne,2007). They are perceived as if they perform like "women," spurring straight-acting gay men to have negative attitudes toward feminine-acting gay men (Clarkson, 2006; Payne, 2007;Ward, 2000). This is called sissyphobia (Bergling, 2001). Kimmel (1996) supports that "masculinity has been (historically) defined as the flight from women and the repudiation of femininity" (p. 123). Thus, sissyphobia plays as the communication strategy for straight-acting gay men to justify and empower their masculinity. (p. 38).

Eguchi added, "I wonder how 'sissyphobia' particularly plays into the dynamic of domestic violence processes in the straight-acting and effeminate-acting male same-sex coupling pattern." (p. 53).

In sexual subcultures

In the BDSM practice of

forced feminization Feminization or feminisation (see spelling differences), sometimes forced feminization (shortened to forcefem or forced femme), and also known as sissification, is a practice in dominance and submission or kink subcultures, involving reversal of ...

, the male bottom undergoing

may be called a sissy as a form of erotic humiliation, which may elicit guilt and/or

sexual arousal Sexual arousal (also known as sexual excitement) describes the physiological and psychological responses in preparation for sexual intercourse or when exposed to sexual stimuli. A number of physiological responses occur in the body and mind as ...

. Another common theme is the use of a

chastity belt A chastity belt is a locking item of clothing designed to prevent sexual intercourse or masturbation. Such belts were historically designed for women, ostensibly for the purpose of chastity, to protect women from rape or to dissuade women and the ...

, compounding the male bottom's humiliation by restricting the size and access to their genitals. In

paraphilic infantilism Paraphilic infantilism, also known as autonepiophilia, psychosexual infantilism and adult baby syndrome, is a sexual fetish that involves role-playing a regression to an infant-like state. Behaviors may include drinking from a bottle or wearing di ...

, a ''sissy baby'' is a man who likes to play the role of a baby girl.

References

Sources

*'' Random House Dictionary of the English Language - Second Edition - Unabridged'', Random House, New York (1987).

External links

* {{crossdressing footer LGBT terminology Male gender nonconformity Gay effeminacy Gender-related stereotypes Homophobic slurs LGBT-related slurs Pejorative terms for effeminacy English words Sisters