sublimefemme

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By sublimefemme • 16 years ago

I’m No Lady

This is cross-posted from my blog, Sublimefemme Unbound:
I hate being called a lady. It’s almost as bad as being showered with “yes, ma’am’s” by my students! I’m not against manners; to the contrary, I value them highly and even keep a copy of Miss Manners’ Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior on hand to refer to in case of an etiquette crisis. (I kid you not.)
“Lady” not only means that a woman is polite and considerate but also that she’s “proper” and/or “virtuous.” Which of course implies that other women are not. Maybe that’s why, for me, it’s a category that tends to resist ironic appropriation. However, I will admit that there are a few important exceptions:
1. when used by drag queens
2. in the Tom Jones song, “She’s a Lady”
3. when used by the glorious Lady Brett Ashley, whose namesake (a character in The Sun Also Rises) is independent, sexually liberated and drinks her way across Europe. What’s not to like?

By sublimefemme • 16 years ago

The Feminist Fairytale about Butch/Femme

(Cross-posted from Sublimefemme Unbound)
Does butch/femme reinforce traditional gender roles? Is it sexist? Misogynistic? Does being a femme mean that you’re a nurturing “little wife” who “stands by her butch?” A sex kitten who is required to perform an idealized fantasy of feminine perfection? Do butches and other transmasculine people get to “wear the pants” (both literally and metaphorically)-defending and protecting “their” femmes- while femmes have less power? Is it really possible to be a feminist butch or a feminist femme-not just in theory, but in practice?
These questions won’t go away, although it’s almost 40 years since the heyday of second wave feminism, when butch/femme first came under fire from “women’s libbers” and butch dykes were ostracized for ...

By sublimefemme • 16 years ago

A Very Wicked Femme

I wanted to share my latest post from my blog, Sublimefemme Unbound, with everyone here. Post and pic at http://sublimefemme.wordpress.com/.
When I was a kid and The Wizard of Oz came on TV every year, my little sister and I would always watch it, knowing that the appearance of the Witch would scare my sister into leaping under a table or bed, while I soaked it all in, riveted: the flash of green and black, the awe-inspiring powers (I want to fly too!), the dutiful flying monkeys, the sheer drama of it all.

By sublimefemme • 16 years ago

Is Palin Trig’s Mother (or Grandmother)?

Check out this post (with pics & video) on Daily Kos, which offers evidence that Sarah Palin is not Trig Palin’s mother but actually his grandmother. According to ArcXIX, Palin’s 16 year old daughter, Bristol, is actually the mother of the baby!
What do you think??

By sublimefemme • 16 years ago

No, I’m Not a Lipstick Lesbian (I Just Look Like One)

A Preface: This post is a response to some of the discussion and debate on Feministing and other sites about Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi–e.g. are they butch/femme? Is Portia a lipstick lesbian? femme? feminine? I what follows, I hope to shed some light on what these labels mean for me and other femme-identified queer women. You can also check out this post on my blog.
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Yes, I adore lipstick and never met a MAC lipgloss I didn’t like, but please, don’t call me a lipstick lesbian! I’m a femme.
What’s the difference, my pretty? Is there one? Clearly, it depends who you ask.
Here are my definitions of these terms, which are ...