Is there an equivalent to emasculate for women? As I am getting to know the default male, I am finding him everywhere. Why is it that there is a word to describe the removal of maleness from a man, but the closest word in structural terms, effeminate, mostly also is used with reference to men? I am a middle- aged woman who grew up in the era of third wave feminism and I find it bewildering. Apparently, I am not alone. Continue reading