I don't talk too much about butch/femme identities here. In part this is because I happily cede the floor to the experts when it comes to serious discussions of gender and sexuality. But it's also in part because I tend to straddle what is traditionally thought of as those worlds. I consider myself to be basically femme with decidedly butch undertones. I've always had and love my long hair and embrace my feminine features. But I also wear very little makeup and never wear dressed. Seriously, never. So, hmm, where does that put me?Well, today it put me in the privileged position of hosting a day of the month-long Femmethology Virtual Tour. The tour promotes “Visible: A Femmethology,” a two-volume anthology devoted to femme identity which was released by Homofactus Press this March. While – make no mistake – it is about queer femmes, it celebrates the delicious diversity within that self-identity. More than 50 contributors are included in the anthology who help challenge and answer the question: What is femme? Along the way their essays touch on everything sexism and racism, class and disabilities, trans and bi-phobias. Interesting stuff.
The collection challenge those preconceived notions that want to box us in – sometimes even within our own community. It's also a reminder that we're the ones who get to decide what boxes we check and don't check. And, even those don't truly define our entirety. We are what we say we are, how we feel, what we believe.
The tour started April 1 at the always sexy Sugarbutch Chronicles and continues on through the end of the month. So, if you're interested, give it a look-see. And if you're fascinated, buy yourself a copy or two.
The Femmethology Virtual Tour:
- 4/1. Sugarbutch Chronicles
- 4/2. Ellie Lumpesse
- 4/3. Queer-o-mat
- 4/6. Catalina Loves
- 4/7. The Femme’s Guide and Femme Fagette
- 4/8. Daphne Gottlieb
- 4/9. Bilerico Project
- 4/10. Screaming Lemur: Femme-inism and Other Things
- 4/13. The Femme Hinterland
- 4/14. Bochinche Bilingüe: Borderlands Writing and The Vagina Adventures
- 4/15. Dorothy Surrenders
- 4/16. Miss Avarice Speaks Her Mind
- 4/17. The Femme Show
- 4/18. CyDy Blog
- 4/19. Sexuality Happens
- 4/20. Queer Fat Femme
- 4/21. Sublimefemme Unbound
- 4/22. Tina-cious.com and Jess I Am
- 4/23. FemmeIsMyGender
- 4/24. The Lesbian Lifestyle
- 4/25. Femme Fluff
- 4/26. Weldable Cookies
- 4/27. The Verbosery
- 4/28. A Consuming Desire and Creative Xicana
- 4/29. Queercents
- 4/30. en|Gender
9 comments:
Fab! Thanks for that...will look forward to exploring them (as it were!!)
When you gonna do the butch one?!
BB
X
Hmmm, this seems like it's going to be really fascinating.
Though I hope there is time devoted to us femmes that are orientated towards other femmes sexually. Too often femme gets discussed only in relationship to butch identities.
I can't be the only one completely skeeved out by the whisker/lipstick image... right?
No, you're not Syd
Thanks so much for being a part of the tour, Dorothy!
Syd & Liz, I designed the cover & you can read more about the cover image here: http://www.homofactuspress.com/index.php/currentpublication/the_femmethology_cover/
Thanks again!
The cover image is provocative. I don't personally find it appealing, but I don't have to. It's memorable and gets a response, so the choice was probably a good one.
Well, now that I've read the teaser essay at the link Maria provided, I don't find the text that appealing either. I've never understood why someone needs to microdefine themselves to the outside world, or demand that someone else microdefine themselves to them. Gees, reminds me of the friend I have who once termed herself a top but an interchangeable bottom femme with butch tendencies and domination issues...she went on further but I quit listening because really. I mean, really. Plus, once she said 'interchangeable bottom' I thought of reversible shorts and that was that.
Very cool exploration, I can relate to a lot of that. Probably one of the bigger reasons I didn't come out earlier in life is because I just couldn't identify with the multitudinous butch lesbian stereotypes (don't get me wrong, butch is beautiful but it just wasn't me). It wasn't as simple as being a femme either. "But I'm A Cheerleader" helped me see a bit more what a femme could be but it wasn't till I saw the L Word in college that I understood. It was Bette. Strong and beautiful - even in a dress and heels she was the man. That's why I like "lipstick lesbian" more than "femme." It's not just about make-up and heels; it's a mentality.
Thanks for sharing this!
um?
the pic..
didn't do photoshop!
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