I live in the midwest. I know that some are still butch femme. Neither me or my girlfriend are really girly or really butch. We are more in the middle. To some extent I think the butch femme thing is a way to tell people apart especially in areas without a large culture. If you dress butch you are more visible to other lesbians.If you are more in the middle someplaces people even in gaybars will think you are straight and might be less willing to risk talking to you or flirting with you ect. I know some people truly identify as butch or femme and it means alot to them. But im just going to be myself and wear girly clothes when i want and wear mens boardshorts and tank top when i want. Also I'm not sure how indicitive of sexual behavoir it is as in are butches more of a top then femmes and how that plays a role in people presentation of themselves. This is an intresting subject and I'm intrested in reading what other people have to say and how different the answer is in different parts of the country.

I also wonder to an extent if butch femme couples somewhat look like straight couples from a distance and in some areas it might be a saftey thing.

I can relate to you well T? or ms.anderson? Lol anyways, I can understand you there, I am not really girly nor am I thatm uch of a butch. I am from the East coast, California, so I think how you dress is not a problem because Cali , espcially the LA and Costal areas are very free and open minded about the whole femme butch thing. As I was saying, I waer shorts and what would be categorized "male clothing" sometimes because it is comfortable! FUCK whoever doesnt like it Lol. And when there is events I mix both, I am not a huge fan os short skirts, so I wear dickies pants or whatever with a "tight-fit" shirt and I fix my hair so I am both at the same time LOL.

I really havent had problems going to bars and flirting and being flirted to Lol, I guess there is something in me that identifies me as a lesbian and not my clothing. It might be by the way I act when I am around in a gay bar, my attitude is what gives me away my friends say. You dont really have to worry about what others thins about you when you are wearign this or that or if you pass for straight, may people I have talked to thought I was straight to begin with it doesnt really bother me because I know is just their denial to admit and accept me for who I really am, I am not going to change according to cliches and whats right for society.

Me thinks you and your girl should do the same, be who you are and dont give a fuck for what you might look on other eye. I know it might be harder in some parts of the US, depending on where you are from if you live in a small town and such things. but Hell, as long as you are comfortable with it, everyhtings fine. :D

-Michie :D

It is difficult to say "how things are in the US" because across the country you have people from different cultures, backgrounds, and social standards; this has alot to do with presenation of gender.

In small towns it is more common to see Butch/Femme match ups than you might see in more urban areas. However, it is still common to see these 'roles' played out among majority Black/African-American heritage lesbian communities than more mixed communities. These factors have a lot to do with cultural and social opinions of homosexuality and how the women cope.

I think your thesis is an interesting one; however, in order to narrow down your topic to something you can do well (i.e., to avoid dissertation-level work), I encourage you to select TWO American cities, one large (maybe NYC or LA) and one small (Kansas or somewhere in the Mid-West maybe) to show the contrast.

Best wishes on your work!

 

"Do not judge, unless you want to be judged..."

i'm from new england. a lot of the lesbians i know are femme, others are pretty butch, but i think it's safe to say that most of them lean more towards androgyny than other girls.

Thx 4 ur comments.. still reading into the subject. I would love to pick to cities and compare them, but unfortunately I am not gonna do fieldwork, but write a literature thesis. I guess its sort of obvious that the butch-femme thing is more populair in little towns and villages because lots of people (lesbians) find it oldfashion, especially in big modern cities where everything is happening.

Do you girls think the media has any influence on how lesbians behave/dress or present themselves. Lets take the Lword as an example.. all beautifull women, no butches.. just femmes.. Offcourse its not realistic at all... but still. DOnt we all want to have that life (and be with Tina  ;-)??!!

No I live in a big city i live in los angeles,ca. and it does depend on a lot of things. I live in south central los angeles and most of the clubs around me are mostly black and latino and I see more butch well they call them studs here than fems. A fem would not even look at another fem. Its so hard 4 me 2 find a date because a girl wont even look at me. When I go to more of a mixed crowd meaning a club that actually has white people there thats the only time I fell more open and not to many tomboys.