Lesbian fashion is something that has puzzled me to no end. As an openly gay, feminine woman, sexually attracted to other feminine women, I have always been curious as to why, in our day and age, it seems the majority of lesbians continue to assume more masculine roles and styles whether it’s in the clothes they wear, their comportment, or even the adoption of butch/femme gender roles in relationships. Lesbians come in a wide variety of shapes, moods and sizes and some are built with a lot more fashion sense than others.
If you’ve ever wondered what lesbian fashion is, or better yet, how sexuality can have a style, I have broken down the main tenets of lesbian fashion and provided some insight as to why some lesbians identify with a particular lesbian style over another. This article will contain generalizations and stereotypes that may not be suitable for audiences that don’t have a sense of humour.
The Lipstick Lesbian
As the name suggests, the lipstick lesbian is not afraid of make-up, heels, dresses and accessories. She embraces the typical aspects of what is considered feminine, long hair, make-up, clothes that show off her curves. This often leads to the assumption that she is straight, bi-curious or at most bisexual. Given that lesbians had to hide their sexuality for so long, there are still many lesbian women today that may dress in a way that coincides with the heterosexual norm. Others will be open about their homosexuality yet still take on more feminine roles. They may prefer dating women who present themselves in a more masculine way. Then again, there are many lipstick lesbians who are attracted to girlie girls and also like looking like girlie girls. They blend right into mainstream heterosexual culture while being completely comfortable with their sexuality.
The Butch Lesbian
We love softball and hiking
Butch lesbians were particularly prominent in the working-class lesbian bar culture of the 1940s, ’50s, and ’60s. In the 1940s many butch lesbians were living a double life, dressing in typical feminine attire during their work week, saving their best shirt and tie for an underground bar event over the weekend. By the 1950s however, a new generation of butches emerged, wearing “butch” attire full-time. This usually limited them to a few occupations with no dress codes, such as factory work and cab driving. Nowadays many butches continue to commemorate their butch roots wearing trucker hats, construction boots and cut-off tee-shirts, pulling together the look with those stunning mullets.
The Tomboy/Soft Butch Lesbian
I didn’t know Hilary Swank’s character in “Boys Don’t Cry” could become a pop star!
The soft butch/chapstick lesbian is androgynous in appearance, shops in the Boy section of Men’s stores and is in great part responsible for hipster fashion. You’ll be able to spot her from her lopsided haircut and arm-sleeve tattoo, wearing skin tight black jeans, canvas shoes, a wallet-chain, and perhaps some thick, black-framed Clark Kent glasses. Though the soft butch typically has short hair, male clothes, and a masculine attitude she embraces gender dichotomies and chooses to blend them.
The Power Lesbian
Adopting the assured, strong qualities typically associated with men,the power lesbian is a career-driven, flat shoe, DKNY wearing woman-on-the-go, juggling full-time corporate responsibilities like the talent management of her employees, but always finding time to slip out of the office for a quick “boxed lunch”. (Who doesn’t love a lesbian pun?) The power lesbian is of the lesbian elite. She has money, connections and power, and will only be seen wearing the most sophisticated, tailored attire, letting everyone know who’s boss.
The Artsy Lesbian
You’re most likely to find the artsy lesbian working as an art curator at your local art gallery dressed head to toe in black Japanese designer clothing. Turtlenecks are also very popular among this group.
The Literary Lesbian
She listens to Ani DiFranco and Kenny Star, knows the complete works of Djuna Barnes, is an activist on a raw food diet and most likely using her cat’s excrement to fertilize her plants.
Drag Kings
John Goodman as “Deli Owner”
Drag kings dress in masculine drag personifying male gender stereotypes as part of their performance. A drag king routine usually incorporates dancing, lip-synching, singing, either individually or in groups. Drag kings will exaggerate macho male characteristics and often impersonate male celebrities like Elvis Presley.
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Anya said
LOVE this article.
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nic said
Annie DeFranco?
The misspelling really ruined the Justin Bieber laughs.
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[…] The Psychology of Lesbian Fashion […]
Lady said
http://lesbianswholooklikejustinbieber.tumblr.com/
queerfeminist said
Wow, you’re really hateful. It’s a shame that you don’t seek solidarity within your own culture. Instead you choose to distance yourself from many strong women who would not even think about judging you for YOUR appearance. I hope one day you find someone who will hold up a mirror to your misguided effort at levity, and expose it for the self loathing tripe it really is.
LAWLZ said
Giggles at the justin beiber picture.
Sandy said
That Justin Bieber picture just cracked me up, genius!
I think that a good real-life example of a tomboy/soft butch would be Ellen Degeneres
fagtastic said
@queerfeminist Here’s a Pro Tip for ya: Lighten up, learn to laugh, and lose the mullet.
fagtastic said
Also, this is a great article!
Korin said
Maybe you should do a little research. The character in Boys Don’t Cry is a transman, not a lesbian.
tillie said
u are who u are n shouldnt be judged…….
marie said
this is a load of hate-speeching shit. Lesbians are NORMAL PEOPLE. they arent some god damn other non human species! They are people and, like people, they have SEPARATE SENSES of their own style prefrence! Jesus christ, whoever put up this article is just a hateful attenion-seeking, Nazi BITCH! STOP SEPARATING GAYS FROM SOCIETY AND UNINCLUDING THEM, MAKING THEM FEEL SO HORRIBLE!
PS: Although I do agree with Justin Beiber truly being a woman, therefore a lesbian.
laura said
haha that was amazing… i got a good laugh out of it
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WOWLez said
Chill out Marie at what point did this article say that lesbians are not human??
Relax before you die of a stress induced coronary. Jesus save you from a joke…I mean its the internet sweetheart there is a website making fun of every type of person in the world. At the end of the day people that are hating gays are always going to regardless of this silly little article this has given no one any fire or credibility to their hating ways so chill out before a bunch of them read your response and generalize you as all a bunch of crazy bitches looking for a fight no one cared to start. RELAXXXXXXX
mike said
bieber gleich schwul
psychosoziale Gesundheit said
While we are in the area of The Psychology of Lesbian Fashion, Psychosocial factors are also involved in weight control. For 1 factor, many people claim to eat a lot more when they are anxious or upset, and evidence indicates that tension can induce consuming. Way of life is very important, too.
Ingrid said
This article is fabulous! Aaaand I’ve found reading the comments to be just as entertaining, haha. @Marie and @queerfeminist, wow, what’s it like to live a life without a sense of humor?
(Though, to be honest, I know a lot of girls who fit each of these categories EXACTLY.)
SE said
It’s not about having a sense of humor, friends. Presenting prejudiced material as light humor is as old as the hills, as is having a gang of people support it wholeheartedly. It’s done with racism, sexism, and homophobia, as well as within groups, e.g. femme lesbian against butch lesbian. In fact, it’s so rampant, we don’t even see ourselves doing it. In this case, the problem is this assumption that high heels and lipstick are ‘correct’ expressions of our gender. Oddly, not conforming to a gender stereotype really messes with people’s heads and guarantees you flack (even anger) from others. You should ask yourselves what exactly is wrong with a woman dressing like a man - seriously, ask yourselves. If you can come up with a reasonable answer for that, congratulations, because I can’t. The only correct expression of anything as personal as sexuality and gender is whatever you want it to be. Instead of criticizing how that turns out, let’s encourage people to feel free to be themselves.
Span said
@SE - I couldn’t agree with you more!!
At the end of the day gender ideologies are product of culture.
If a female chooses to wear clothing that has the ideological status of being a ‘male’ item of clothing, then why the hell not?!
There is no rational argument to why a particular gender should stick to a certain type of clothing.
Obviously as an individual myself I conform within society to a certain extent; it is tedious and depressingly highlights how we are controlled within society in various ways.
Gender F***ing all the way I say!! Screw conformism!
Xasswuwe said
Please. I, personally, find femmes just kind of like paintings. Beautiful, yes. But I don’t have sex with paintings. I’m not a douche about a femme’s appearance. And you know what? I’m irritated that I have some “holier than thou” lipstick lesbian bitching that all dykes need to be femme and that masculine women aren’t attractive. I did totally laugh at the Bieber picture, but that doesn’t mean that you’re not a douche.
RD said
I thought it was kind of amusing, but I did not appreciate all the butch-hating. Yes, it was lighthearted and poked fun at some people, which was funny. But mocking masculine women for the way they dress, conflating them with lower-class people, and implying the look is outdated and that they just haven’t made the effort to keep up with progress in the fashion world (as if no one would ever dress masculinely if they understood that they didn’t have to in order to be gay) is super discriminatory and disrespectful. Can’t we just all let each other wear what we want, regardless if our clothes fit in with normative gender performance?
femofpower said
you totaly FORGOT Fem ( femmes) !!
that sucks
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