Do you think a female described as 'handsome' is as much a compliment as a male described as 'pretty'?

its interesing that its so much more acceptable for men to look feminine than for females to look masculine

and so much less acceptable for males to behave like females than for females to behave like men



mixed messages much?

Depends on where you are from. Here, handsome is usually for men. Prettyvis usually for women

so you dont have 'pretty boys'?

I don't...no

i usually hear pretty used for women and handsome for guys, btw where i live i was sometimes told i looked like a woman because of my eyes and hair but i don't think it's like really problematic for a man to have some feminine aspects

interesting regional differences

I have always heard people like Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp referred to as 'pretty boys'

which seemed like it was meant as compliment about attractiveness

but whenever I have heard the phrase 'handsome woman' it seemed more like it was meant to refer more to solid girth than attractiveness,,

never been called pretty a day in my life

have however, been referred to as a handsome woman

think it has to do with many things

nope not petite I stand 5ft 10

have a strong jawline

pointy chin

stubborness to go along with it

broad across the shoulder and hip

look ya right in eye

Was looking in the mirror this morning

Hi Ms. Harmony...

hey beautiful

I would say we call some boys or men ... pretty boys ... but I would guess that is up to a individual to decide ... who is or isn't ...

pretty boys is a designation for men who are extremely attractive and essentially beautiful like brad pitt rather than sean connery who is rugged. Pretty boys can also allude to possibly gay men who act feminine and have soft features too.

I agree as it refers to her presence and that is an attitude based on a particular physical stature and presence... The issue is in trying to reduce men and women to simple dichotomies whereas the range is much more differentiated just as males and females are more sexually diversified than simply straight or gay as 37 per cent of men have had some type homosexual experience but define themselves as straight. Women also have a degree of variance too as sexual orientation is not simply a binary decision....

People use the word "handsome" in an attempt to stroke the ego of not so pretty women.

People use the term "pretty boy" to try and knock a guy down in the pecking order.

Using "handsome" towards a woman is a backhanded compliment usually stemming from good intentions.
Using "pretty boy" towards a guy is a backhanded insult from negative intentions.


No mixed messages.
It's almost always less acceptable for a guy to look and act "like a woman" or "feminine" than a woman to look or act "like a guy" or "masculine."
(which is not to say there is acceptance, in some cases it's like saying 'there is less violence in gang wars than there is in military war', saying there is "less" acceptance may not be really saying much if there is no acceptance either way, or in cases no one cares, even then having "more" acceptance doesn't mean it's a good or positive thing)

Which do you think is more accepted:
Drag queens or female bodybuilders?
Women MMA stars wanting to fight men, or male MMA stars wanting to fight women?
Female cops, or male bra fitting specialists?
Women wearing suits to work, or men wearing skirts and heels?
Men with makeup, or women without?
Fat men with female hip to waist and shoulder ratios and big floppy breasts, or female athletes with male shoulder to waist ratios and flat chests?

I think using the word handsome to describe a woman recognise her functionality along with her ornamentation.

To call a man pretty seems to distract from his functionality.

Of course this is influenced by my biases but we all have a bias one way or the other towards functionality and ornamentation.

I get called a douche bag a lot

Yes

drag queens
men and women fighting is not very accepted PERIOD
men DRESSING like women(unless they are drag queens) IS less accepted
men with makeup
floppy breasts arent really accepted in either sex
flat chests on women isnt really accepted so well either(at least not to the extent of being man like)