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

Although Alix didn't write her article in the August '99 issue of "Girlfriends" Magazine to address Femme (or Butch) issues, she did take Lesbians in general to task for adopting the term Queer and abandoning the term Lesbian as a self-identifier. She fears that Lesbian lives and issues will get short shrift in the Queer movement because there are men involved in it. By her definition feminism - and Lesbianism - means "being deeply loyal to women and our interests?" Really, Alix? What about Femme women? Where is the Lesbian loyalty to us - and to our Butches? (click here to view the Alix Dobkin article)

Butches and Femme women were many of the sheroes and heroes of feminism in the early days of the second feminist renaissance (in the 60's and 70's). Yet we were never welcome in your movement. In fact, we were often asked to leave the feminist and Lesbian rank and file (or at least stay out of sight) because we were the spittin' image of everything feminism challenged in female presentation. We were a tool of the patriarchy in our acceptance, even celebration, of what feminists all judged to be the feminine ways of the day, both in and out of bed. Our Butches were, of course, too masculine looking, and therefore too frightening to straight folk - the very people feminists were desperate to convince should not to be afraid of strong, independent woman-loving-women. In essence, perhaps the clearest and best examples of strong and independent females (Butches), not to mention of women loving other females (Femmes), were shunned by the very people claiming to be up in arms about our rights.

It remains much the same today, Alix. For the most part, Femme women are not recognized as Lesbians by the Lesbian community. We are stereotyped as somehow less than real Lesbians because we often look like straight women, not androdykes, and because some of us even prefer relationships that look like the traditional "husband-wife" relationships many of us were raised to value. We are looked upon askance because we don't love like women - translation: we like to penetrate or be penetrated. The Femme preference for taking the more receptive role in lovemaking is deemed passive, and an imitation of the heterosexual model. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you'd bother to ask us, instead of assuming you know it all, we could tell you just how different it is. Being the receptive partner in no way implies or equates with passivity. But you didn't bother to ask. You, and the other PC Lesbians like you, just wanted us out. So, many of us left. But where were we to go? The Lesbians wouldn't let us in - even though we were female bodied persons who loved other female bodied persons. (Isn't that the technical definition of Lesbian, Alix?) Clearly we weren't straight by anyone's definition.

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