In the beginning of the film, Katniss is depicted as the "glue" of the family- she provides for her mother, takes care of sister, hunts for her food and then sacrifices most of it. She is good friends and oblivious to the feelings of a male character, Gale. Even in the picture we see a leather jacket, a black shirt, hair pulled away from the face, a weapon in hand. She wears little to no visible makeup, and even her stature is different from a lot of the leading women characters we see in Hollywood- it's "healthy". From the very beginning it is made clear that she has not "found" her femininity because she is much too preoccupied providing her family with the sustenance to live.
Katniss stoically takes her sister place in the games, and doesn't hesitate or cry- she shows no signs of weakness. And when she is prepped to be "presented" for the games she is extremely uncomfortable getting plucked, waxed, made-up, and dressed in feminine clothing. However, this is where certain blending occurs. She is finally seen as having femininity and while being presented, appeals to the audience by talking about her love for her sister, Prim, whom she sacrificed herself for. This is a theme later on the film. She constantly appeals to the audience, who in this case is "the Capital". First by sharing her emotional attachment to her sister and then by playing "in love" with Peeta, the other boy from her district and main character.
Her masculinity continues in the arena. She is smart, strong, and does not hesitate to use violence in the slightest. She out- wits most of her opponents and forms allies with the right people. As her relationship with Peeta grows, her masculinity does as well. While she does show emotion- we don't know if it is genuine. In stark contrast, Peeta becomes an extremely feminized character. He refuses to use violence, plays by the rules, does not know the first thing about survival, and often depends solely on Katniss and her skills. This relationship definitely plays up Katniss's masculinity while simultaneously, the audience wonders if their feelings for each other are genuine. Still, Peeta's character and emotions are much more readable, his actions more predictable, and frankly, underdeveloped.
Yet, her moments of vulnerability, such as Rue's death, not only humanize but feminize as well. She becomes this interesting blend of masculine and feminine traits- she has all the strength, skill, and intuition associated with masculinity and yet the caring, sympathetic love for certain characters, primarily female. Her vulnerability in relation to the men in her life (Peeta, her father, Gale, Haymitch) is only visible in the books because we are able to see inside of her mind. In the film, however, her character plays cool and unreadable, in stark comparison to the screaming, confused thoughts about her male companions in the book.
In the end of the film, her solution to both her feminine and masculine traits comes to a head. While she decides to stand in rebellion against the Capital and basically start a war, she also chooses, or so we can gather, to be with Peeta. And so it paints an interesting ideal and balance between what is "good" in both femininity and masculinity. Also, interesting in that she appeals to a body of people by portraying femininity but then saves her own life again and again by showing her "masculine skills". She starts a war, but saves her family- kills other kids, but it is "the Final Girl" left standing in the end.
Here is a link to a similar blog post I encountered:
http://metrac.wordpress.com/2012/04/24/gender-portrayal-in-the-hunger-games/
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