This chapter examines femininity as a socially constructed, historically situated, and politically mediated phenomenon. It outlines key theoretical frameworks that define and critique femininity, tracing how meanings of femininity have evolved in response to changing socioeconomic, cultural, and political contexts globally. Drawing on feminist scholarship, the chapter explores how femininity is shaped and reinforced through institutions such as the family, religion, media, and through everyday social interactions. These institutions work together to produce, regulate, and normalize dominant ideals of femininity that often align with patriarchal structures. At the same time, the chapter attends to the ways femininity is contested and reimagined. It highlights how feminist critiques have challenged essentialist understandings of femininity and opened up possibilities for agency, negotiation, and resistance. By emphasizing the multiplicity and fluidity of femininity, the chapter encourages a critical understanding of gender as embedded in power, produced through discourse, and shaped by lived experience.