Butch and femme

Lesbian Butch/Femme Society march in New York City's Gay Pride Parade (2007).

Butch and femme (/fɛm/; French: [fam];[1][2] from French femme 'woman')[3] are masculine (butch) or feminine (femme) identities in the lesbian subculture[4] which have associated traits, behaviors, styles, self-perception, and so on.[5][6] This concept has been called a "way to organize sexual relationships and gender and sexual identity".[7] Butchfemme culture is not the sole form of a lesbian dyadic system, as there are many women in butch–butch and femme–femme relationships.[8]

Both the expression of individual lesbians of butch and femme identities and the relationship of the lesbian community in general to the notion of butch and femme as an organizing principle for sexual relating varied over the course of the 20th century.[9] 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.[10] Research in the 1990s in the United States showed that "95% of lesbians are familiar with butch/femme codes and can rate themselves or others in terms of those codes, and yet the same percentage feels that butch/femme was 'unimportant in their lives'".[11]

  1. ^ "femme". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d.
  2. ^ "How to say "Woman" in French (Femme)". Speechling. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
  3. ^ Harper, Douglas. "femme". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Theophano was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Hollibaugh, Amber L. (2000). My Dangerous Desires: A Queer Girl Dreaming Her Way Home. Duke University Press. p. 249. ISBN 978-0822326199.
  6. ^ Boyd, Helen (2004). My Husband Betty: Love, Sex and Life With a Cross-Dresser. Sdal Press. p. 64. ISBN 978-1560255154.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ Kramararae, Chris (2000). Rutledge International Encyclopaedia of Women. Routledge. p. 133. ISBN 978-0415920896.
  8. ^ Beeming, Brett (1996). Queer Studies: A Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Anthology. NYU press. pp. 23–27. ISBN 978-0814712580.
  9. ^ Harmon, Lori (2007). Gender Identity, Minority Stress, And Substance Use Among Lesbians. pp. 5–7. ISBN 978-0549398059.
  10. ^ Sullivan, Nikki (2003). Critical Introduction to Queer Theory. Edinburgh University Press. p. 28. ISBN 978-0748615971.
  11. ^ Caramagno, Thomas C. (2002). Irreconcilable Differences? Intellectual Stalemate in the Gay Rights Debate. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 138. ISBN 978-0275977115.