Being a lesbian is chic, yet again

second picture from the top embraces so much; i dont know why but i like it a lot. i wish i had as a poster so i could hang it somwhere.

 a well done article and i would have to agree with the writer. words for women change constantly from something negative to positive over time. so its no surprised to me that 'lesbian' which used to be something negative is now seen to be something positive.

 i never like the word 'lesbian' when growing up because the image people had was tomboy, butch, and basically everything you said in this article.

Wonderful article as always, Ms. Chu.  But please tell us more about the fabulous $12 Alsatian wine :)

Grace, I think I cracked a rib reading this. Seriously.

As you put it, while the people who wrote the article you mentioned seem particularly out of touch with what is hot and what is not in the lesbian world, I'm grateful for the somewhat positive spin they put on said article. "Somewhat" because they make it sound as if being femme is good, while being butch is.. well, not so good. 

Heterosexuals writing an article about lesbians is like someone from the Caribbean commenting on bobsleighing. While he or she may have an idea what it looks like from the sidelines, they'll never win an Olympic medal.  

The article referenced reads like something Carrie Bradshaw would write.

Martha is totally right. Rachel Maddow IS like James Bond, haha. Well tbh I don't know much about James Bond as I didnt see the movies but always thought he was tall dark and handsome, and Daniel Craig is apparently not very tall and blonde obviously, do she fits the bill better than he does! Very tall, dark haired and handsome. (Daniel C seems nice though, and was funny with Catherine Tate for Comic Relief)

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"there's always time for a burrow..."

"We're getting fired, fired, fired, fi..

 article Grace.

Sorry, that is just lazy writing. She wrote that article on a whim.

" True enjoyment comes from activity of the mind and exercise of the body; the two are ever united" ~ Wilhelm von Humbolt

...just the way I lived my life, and not for the benefit of being thought of as "chic."

I've never cared what others have thought about how I live my life.  I'm not about to start now.

They can want to make it chic if they want. The reality is still a gap. We are not like that (the vast majority of us). Just like the majority of everyone is not upper-class or 'succesful', rich so-called artists or businesswomen. When will we like ourselves for who and what we are? 

Note that I'm not against using style, on the contrary. But chic is too darn conformistic.

In fact on random Wednesdays I review bottles of wine under $10 on my blog.  Why?  Because I'm always in search of a good value...especially in wine!

By the way, even if the MEAN (or average) income of lesbian/bi/queer women is possibly going up, that doesn't mean the MODAL income of this same group is going up.  I don't have actual and current hard data to support this hypothesis, but from past research, the modal income of women in committed relationships with other women (because that was the study using 2000 census data that I read) was under $28,000, even thought the average income was somewhat higher (because a few very high income earners can push the overall average up).

If you compared individual incomes of heterosexual married women with individual incomes of queer women in committed lesbian relationships (same household), I believe that the queer women had higher average incomes as well as slightly higher modal incomes.  However, the male partner in the heterosexual marriages had substantially higher average and modal incomes.  Further, it wasn't in the study, but I suspect that many of the married heterosexual women did not work full time, whereas, I'm inclined to think that way more of the queer "married" women did work full time.  Bottom line, women STILL don't make as much money as married heterosexual men, and it may be that more queer women who DO make alot of money are starting to self-identify since the climate for equality is changing.  I'll be very interested in the studies that occur after the 2010 census...

This was so smart and so funny and so perfectly stated. Now I need to go wipe away my tears of laughter and stop saying "Exactly!"....I do want to know about that $12 Alsatian wine however...

I tweet! : @amandadeibert

Gosh, I had no idea lesbians were being treated like bi people.  I know how irritated I am by "bisexual chic" articles that make it look like an entire sexual identity is actually just a bunch of posh people bandying their privilege about, and the inevitable flood of "bisexuals are just trying to be trendy" comments they unleash.  Sorry to see my lesbian sisters may start catching the same kind of flak.

well I bring boxed wine on dates... soo, yea.

Kidding, I don't use boxed wine. But I am glad that lesbians who aren't the typical butches are being given more light... I cant tell you how out of place I still feel in gay bars.. everyone thinks I'm straight. And my fashion style doesn't help..

But I get you're point on this being the latest trend.. lindsay lohan has caused thousands of straight girls to jump on this train while the ride is cool.

"There would be no black and white, the world would just treat my wife right. We could walk down in Mississippi, and no one would look at us twice. That's my dreamworld." - Dreamworld by Robin Thicke

When I read the line "Could I too enter the realm of the hip homosexuals?", I was kind of stunned. Really? We're a trend now?

On one hand, I guess it's sort of neat. It's a nice counterpoint to the former demonization of lesbians--kind of like how gay men became the "fabulous" and wise gay friends on a wide range of TV shows.

But on the other, I'm insulted that she seems to imply homosexuality is pretty much a choice & that she ignores the incredible struggles we're still undergoing. You all know what I'm talking about, so I won't expound further on that point, but it really irks me...

Great commentary, though. Loved the way you picked apart her article.

Very interesting article by Betty Confidential.

It's interesting that the writer stated that lesbian women rock but ONLY if they can "reference art, politics, Manolos and stinky cheese in the same sentence". 

Plus she mentions that "Today the word lesbian does not mean butch or jock or drab. Rather it means power, sophistication and open mindedness."...wait...did she say openmindedness. Being a "lesbian" myself isn't it just a given that lesbians have ALWAYS been openmided? Just sayin.....

Maybe she meant to say that "straights" are openminded now, but only if you can afford a "$200 bottle of wine" and "wear Chanel boots".

Perhaps this ignorant stereotyping is a little more trendy than lesbianism, I believe it could be a little newer but it certainly occurs more often.

A few points: I don't know anything about wine. Chanel is just a brand to me. I don't care about cheese. I'm about as sophisticated as a lollipop stick and I wouldn't know fashion if it hit me in the face.

Does this mean I'm not a lesbian? 

Why can't people see that sexuality does not define a person, it's just a tiny part of the whole? 'Till then I'll just sit in this nifty little box the media gave me.

Oh well, a girl can dream.

why must everything be in boxes?

NEWSFLASH: lesbians are WOMEN and as such, come in as many shapes, sizes, styles, personalities, as all women do. 

trendy and superficial is boring.

I totally agree with Ashley, that more feminine looking lesbians have been given more lights nowadays... but still  mostly people, even gay people think if you look girly and go out with make up and dress/skirt it means you are straight and you can not be gay...as for me quite often  people say to me at a gay bars: darling i think you are in the wrong place *sigh*, even when i was introduced to my now gay friends they thought i'm just straight friend who is curious... how sad is that...*crying*

that flambouyant expense is no longer in. Maybe I move in circles that are SO 2007, but I don't spend days and days scouring charity shops for designer gems for no reason at all. It's cos I'm a label snob, as are many people I know, and they're willing to pay for my finds :) Tbh, the whole vintage, old and shabby chic look is so old here now, like EVERYONE has done it so it's not unique anymore...it's just mainstream fashion.

http://www.myspace.com/good_souls

I think... They've been watching too much L-Word. They think that all lesbians are super skinny-stiletto-wearing-uber-chic Bette Porter, Tina Kennard (yes some of us are are, I do not deny).

However, in my opinion, we come in different shapes, sizes, love different clothes, have different interests - don't fit into any stereotypes. :)

I'm not hip, nor am I fashionable...Does this mean I'm out of the fold? I don't have to go back to dating men, do I?!

**Rolls eyes**

Well done, Grace. Your bullsh*t detector is on point! ;)

~Lolita

"But to see her was to love her, love but her, and love forever."