Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Halberstam further argues that butch–femme is uniquely geared to work in lesbian relationships. [15] Stereotypes and definitions of butch and femme vary greatly, even within tight-knit LGBTQ communities. Jewelle Gomez mused that butch and femme women in the earlier twentieth century may have been expressing their closeted transgender identity.
In her political writings, Nestle, a self-identified femme, argued that contemporary feminism, in rejecting butch and femme identities, was asking her to repress an important part of herself. [ 10 ] [ 11 ] She said she "wanted people, especially lesbians, to see that the butch-femme relationship isn't just some negative heterosexual aping."
Stormé DeLarverie (c. December 24, 1920 – May 24, 2014) was an American woman known as the butch lesbian whose scuffle with police was, according to DeLarverie and many eyewitnesses, the spark that ignited the Stonewall uprising, spurring the crowd to action. [3]
Lesbian portrayal in media is generally in relation to feminism, love and sexual relationships, marriage and parenting. Some writers have stated that lesbians have often been depicted as exploitative and unjustified plot devices. Common representations of lesbians in the media include butch or femme lesbians and lesbian parents. "Butch" lesbian ...
Some lesbian feminists have argued that butch–femme is a replication of heterosexual relations, while other commentators argue that, while it resonates with heterosexual patterns of relating, butch–femme simultaneously challenges it. [56] In the 1970s, the development of lesbian feminism pushed butch–femme roles out of popularity.
It was often understood in conjunction with femme identity, and butch–femme relations have been studied at great length. [6] As a result, butch identity on its own remains somewhat ill-defined. [6] Butch people are often described as sexually dominant lesbians who are interested in having sex with femmes. [6]
Soft butch women might want to have a more passive role sexually or romantically in their relationships, which is generally associated with feminine sexual behavior. [2] This is an example of how a soft butch's sexuality and outward appearance are not completely masculine, but have some feminine traits.
The rise of butch-femme dress allowed for visibility to the lesbian communities, and many women were able to find queer spaces simply by following butch women. [44] Another way lesbian community was able to spread was through the popularization of lesbian pulp novels throughout the 1950s and 1960s.