Difference Between Feminine and Masculine Faces

Because faces are generally the first thing you see when you greet someone, they can determine the impression you leave on somebody. Although the differences between faces are based on traditional features and how they fit within the face, they are stereotypical representations of female versus male personas. For people that undergo transgender surgeries, finding the ideal appearance and changing facial features to match is a very important part of the process. While male facial features are thicker and more angular, female faces present rounder shapes that give off a more youthful appearance. Since there are many differences between feminine and masculine faces (including the forehead, eyes, chin, cheeks, lips and more), multiple procedures are required to achieve the final desired look of a traditionally masculine or traditionally feminine face.

What Makes a Person’s Face Look Feminine or Masculine?

It’s important to remember that masculinity and femininity are traditional observations based on stereotypes that do not have inherent weight in determining what you should or shouldn’t look like. That being said, there are a few key features that can give off a softer and rounder (or more feminine) appearance, while a few augmentations of more angular facial areas can result in a more masculine appearance. For people that are not happy in their bodies, these types of facial feminization surgeries can drastically affect the confidence and power of feeling comfortable in your own skin.

To achieve a more feminine look, smaller features with rounded edges are softer in appearance, making you look more youthful. For more masculine looks, consider sharpening certain features to add angles to the face, giving it width and length that is traditionally seen as more masculine.

Masculine and Feminine Eyes and Foreheads

One of the key determinants of a stereotypical male face and a stereotypical female face is the shape of the forehead. For male faces, the forehead has a prominent bone ridge running above the eyes, known as brow bossing. For female faces, this ridge is not as apparent due to the curvature of the forehead and the flatter front of the head. Brow bossing also helps shape the eyes, resulting in larger eyes on females and more angular-shaped eyes on males. Stereotypically feminine eyes are more round, giving them a more youthful appearance, while stereotypically male eyes have more defined angles to create the impression of age.

Masculine and Feminine Noses

Because noses are in the center of the face, they are a focal point of determining what is a stereotypically masculine or stereotypically feminine face. Female noses are smaller and shorter, with a narrower bridge and nostrils. The tip of the nose is also more blunt than male noses–creating a rounder, softer image with more angulation. In contrast, stereotypically masculine noses noses are larger and are defined by their more full appearance. Because of this, male noses are wider and project further from the face, but are also defined further by the other surrounding features on the face.

Masculine and Feminine Lips

While there are multiple studies debating the appearance of male lips versus female lips, there are a few key indications that make lips seem more feminine or masculine. Stereotypically feminine lips are more inclined to create a “V” shape, while stereotypically male faces shape their lips into a more “U” shape. This difference in lip shape creates different silhouettes when each person smiles, or when their lips sit within the rest of the face. With “V” shapes, the top teeth show more–a shape compared with youthfulness. Feminine faces are also more likely to have fuller, larger lips that curl outwards and slightly away from the face. Because the eyes are drawn to the lips, a larger presence creates a more commanding impression–resulting in the lips being a more dominant facial feature.

Male and Female Cheeks

The cheeks are a vessel for the rest of the face. Depending on the shape of your cheeks, the rest of your face can appear more youthful or more angular–and in turn, more feminine or masculine. Stereotypically feminine cheeks are rounder and more full, giving a more youthful appearance higher up on the face. In contrast, stereotypically male faces have more hollow cheeks that create deeper ridges and shapes along the existing cheekbones. Male faces are more muscular and are less likely to carry fat, meaning that a strong, more hollow appearance is more aligned with the vision of a stereotypically masculine face.

Male and Female Chins

For male and female faces, the appearance of the chin is an easy way to shift the stereotypical appearance from one to the other. Whereas feminine chins are more rounded, male chins are wider and have a flatter base. Female chins are more likely to be shorter and narrower, resulting in a more youthful appearance and a more plump facial silhouette. On the other hand, male chins are more likely to be thick and angular, coming to form a square shape at the bottom. Male chins project forward a little more, and are also more likely to be taller–often times with a cleft in the middle.

Facial Feminization Plastic Surgery

Being comfortable in your own skin is one of the most important parts about being human. However, for some people, the skin that they are given is not the one that makes them feel like their best selves. For people like this, facial feminization plastic surgery allows people undergoing gender confirmation surgery to give off the appearance that makes them feel the most comfortable. Facial feminization plastic surgery transforms masculine facial features into more traditionally feminine features with multiple rounds of smaller procedures to achieve the desired final look. Examples of facial feminization surgery include areas like the chin, cheeks, lips, eyebrows, forehead, noses and more.