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c
o v e r s t o r y
Coming
out of the Queer Closet
by
Nedhera Landers
f e a t u r
e s
A
Response to Alix Dobkin's article "Queer & Present Danger"
by
De-Anna Alba
Living
Deliberately
by
Mowani Carter
The
Queering of Femininity
by
Susan Craigie
c o l u m n
s
Health
by
Dr. Lipstick
Wealth
by
Ms. Moneygrrl
Sex
by
SexySuzi
Advice
by
Victoria
Fashion
by
Fran Fatale
Femme
Perspective
by
Christine
Butch
Perspective
by
Daddy Rhon
Publisher's
Note
Letter
from the Editor
Contribute
to Femme
|
The
Queering of Femininity
by Susan Craigie
(Continued,
page 2)
But
what about us, the queer femmes? Who sees us? How does our queerness
differentiate our femininity from straight women who express feminine
gender?
I
used to think that someone was queer if their expression
of gender did not conform to the masculine as male, feminine as
female paradigm. I believed there was a link between gender expression
and sexual preference.
Now
I think gender and sexuality are completely separate things. Gender
expression is an outward manifestation of how we feel inside.
Gender exists as a continuum from feminine to masculine, and we
all land on it somewhere.
Our
culture exerts immense social pressure for our gender to be congruous
with our biological sex. The mainstream culture does not equate
homosexuality with everyone who falls outside the expected norm.
This belief is the primary cause of femme invisibility. Our gender
expression is congruous with our sex, but we are queer nonetheless.
It is easy to see how butches who are biologically female and
have masculine gender expression are visible, while femmes who
are biologically female and have feminine gender expression are
completely invisible as queers.
Sadly,
femmes have been treated with suspicion in the queer community,
and at times, even by butches. Lesbians seem to fear that we are
really straight women who will betray butches by choosing men.
We are sometimes criticized because we have access to the safety
and privilege of straight women - whatever that is: the safety
to be raped, denied economic parity, scorned, treated as objects
without intelligence? Yes, it is true. Expressing our femininity
does leave us open to this hatred.
I
find it alarming that femininity is scorned by many lesbians.
In some ways this scorn is evidence that these lesbians are, in
fact, buying into patriarchal thinking - a transgression which
we, as femmes, are often charged with. In gay male culture, femininity
is seen as an expression of queerness. Masculinity, where the
gay man's gender is congruent with his sex, is not seen as possibly
heterosexual. It is perceived as powerful and sexy, just as it
is seen in the world at large.
continued
on page 3
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