Femme: Difference between revisions
Added some notable femme people and photos from Wikimedia Commons.
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[[File:Butch Femme Society by David Shankbone.jpg|thumb|The Butch/Femme Society marching at NYC Gay Pride Parade 2007.]] | |||
'''Femme''' is a term that refers to a queer person whose [[gender expression]] is considered to be [[feminine]]. It was originally used to distinguish feminine lesbian and bisexual women from [[butch]] women, and it is still one of the main uses of the term. It is common for trans and nonbinary individuals to use the term to refer to their identity or expression even if they do not identify as lesbian or bisexual women.<ref name="Tonic">{{Cite web |title=What Does Femme Mean? The Difference Between Being Femme & Being Feminine |last=Tonic |first=Gina |work=Bustle |date=24 August 2016 |access-date=28 April 2020 |url= https://www.bustle.com/articles/166081-what-does-femme-mean-the-difference-between-being-femme-being-feminine}}</ref> However, this last usage is a bit controversial.<ref name=":0">[http://lesbiansovereverything.com/on-the-appropriation-of-femme/ On the appropriation of femme] on Lesbians over everything (lesbiansovereverything.com)</ref> A common definition of femme is someone who queers or subverts femininity, as opposed to a butch person, who rejects femininity. <ref name="Shewan">{{Cite web |title=Are you Femme? What Femme Isn’t and What it is. |last=Shewan |first=Briana |work=affirmativecouch.com |date=15 February 2019 |access-date=28 April 2020 |url= https://affirmativecouch.com/are-you-femme-what-femme-isnt-and-what-it-is/ |quote=Femmes may have any gender identity; some consider femme their gender identity, whileother femmes may have a different gender identity (such as transwoman, nonbinary, cis-woman, [[genderfluid]], [[agender]], etc.) and consider femme their gender expression}}</ref> | '''Femme''' is a term that refers to a queer person whose [[gender expression]] is considered to be [[feminine]]. It was originally used to distinguish feminine lesbian and bisexual women from [[butch]] women, and it is still one of the main uses of the term. It is common for trans and nonbinary individuals to use the term to refer to their identity or expression even if they do not identify as lesbian or bisexual women.<ref name="Tonic">{{Cite web |title=What Does Femme Mean? The Difference Between Being Femme & Being Feminine |last=Tonic |first=Gina |work=Bustle |date=24 August 2016 |access-date=28 April 2020 |url= https://www.bustle.com/articles/166081-what-does-femme-mean-the-difference-between-being-femme-being-feminine}}</ref> However, this last usage is a bit controversial.<ref name=":0">[http://lesbiansovereverything.com/on-the-appropriation-of-femme/ On the appropriation of femme] on Lesbians over everything (lesbiansovereverything.com)</ref> A common definition of femme is someone who queers or subverts femininity, as opposed to a butch person, who rejects femininity. <ref name="Shewan">{{Cite web |title=Are you Femme? What Femme Isn’t and What it is. |last=Shewan |first=Briana |work=affirmativecouch.com |date=15 February 2019 |access-date=28 April 2020 |url= https://affirmativecouch.com/are-you-femme-what-femme-isnt-and-what-it-is/ |quote=Femmes may have any gender identity; some consider femme their gender identity, whileother femmes may have a different gender identity (such as transwoman, nonbinary, cis-woman, [[genderfluid]], [[agender]], etc.) and consider femme their gender expression}}</ref> | ||
International Femme Appreciation Day is celebrated on the first Saturday of July.<ref name="Lapachet">{{Cite web |title=International Femme Appreciation Day |last=Lapachet |first=María |work=A Femme in NYC |date=3 July 2014 |access-date=22 June 2020 |url= https://afemmeinnyc.wordpress.com/2014/07/03/international-femme-appreciation-day-2/}}</ref><ref name="QE">{{Cite web |title=Lesbian Culture & Visibility |author= |work=QueerEvents.ca |date= |access-date=22 June 2020 |url= https://queerevents.ca/queer-culture/lesbian-visibility}}</ref> | International Femme Appreciation Day is celebrated on the first Saturday of July.<ref name="Lapachet">{{Cite web |title=International Femme Appreciation Day |last=Lapachet |first=María |work=A Femme in NYC |date=3 July 2014 |access-date=22 June 2020 |url= https://afemmeinnyc.wordpress.com/2014/07/03/international-femme-appreciation-day-2/}}</ref><ref name="QE">{{Cite web |title=Lesbian Culture & Visibility |author= |work=QueerEvents.ca |date= |access-date=22 June 2020 |url= https://queerevents.ca/queer-culture/lesbian-visibility}}</ref> | ||
== | == Usage == | ||
Some argue that the word ''femme'' can only be used to describe people in the LGBTQ+ spectrum, and it can be a synonym of the expression ''lipstick lesbian'' in some cases. That means that [[cisgender]] straight women should not use the term to describe themselves, as it would be considered appropriation.<ref group="note">Note that, in French, ''femme'' means ''woman.'' This article is about the English usage of this word.</ref> Because there are many stereotypes surrounding femininity, the term ''femme'' is often used to subvert cultural expectations about how a woman should look like. For this reason, many (but not all) people that identify as ''femme'' do not try to adhere to these stereotypes.<ref name="Tonic" /> This is similar to how the word ''queer'' was reclaimed by the LGBTQ community. | |||
Femme has been used for women as well as for people who identify outside of the gender binary.<ref name="Shewan" /> Nonbinary femmes struggle against the misconception that nonbinary people must have an [[Androgyny|androgynous]] expression, since their own expression is feminine.<ref name="smith">{{Cite web |title=Beyond the binary: Yes, nonbinary femmes exist |last=smith |first=s.e. |work=this ain't livin' |date=27 April 2015 |access-date=28 April 2020 |url= http://meloukhia.net/2015/04/beyond_the_binary_yes_nonbinary_femmes_exist/ }}</ref> | |||
Some people claim that in the same way that nobody uses the words ''bear'' or ''twink'' unless they are gay men, nobody should use words such as ''femme'' or ''butch'' unless they are women. Therefore, they consider it appropriation.<ref name=":0" /> | |||
==Flags== | ==Flags== | ||
There is no universally-accepted flag for the femme identity, but several have been proposed. Below are some of them. | There is no universally-accepted flag for the femme identity, but several have been proposed. Below are some of them. | ||
<gallery> | <gallery> | ||
File:Femme flag by disasterbisexual.png | File:Femme flag by disasterbisexual.png|designed by disasterbisexual | ||
File:Femme flag by momma-mogai-sphinx.png | File:Femme flag by momma-mogai-sphinx.png|designed by momma-mogai-sphinx | ||
File:Femme flag by 0biz.png | File:Femme flag by 0biz.png|designed by 0biz | ||
File:Fem(me) flag by butch-pentious.png | File:Fem(me) flag by butch-pentious.png|designed by butch-pentious | ||
File:Femmegender2.png|A flag for "nonbinary femme" from Beyond Mogai Pride Flags | |||
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
== Notable femme people == | == Notable femme people == | ||
[[File:Kate Bornstein2010.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Kate Bornstein]], a nonbinary femme-identified trans person.]] | |||
There are many more [[notable nonbinary people|notable people who have a gender identity outside of the binary]]. The following are only some of those notable people who specifically describe their own identity by the name "femme," "fem," or a close analog to it. | |||
'' | * [[Dev Blair]] is a multimedia artist who is a nonbinary femme.<ref>{{cite tweet|user=Dev_Blair|number=956701170503954432|title=Starting 2 prefer "they" pronouns because so many people wanna equate "she" pronouns w/ me being a woman n that's not really what I mean when I say non-binary femme-what I mean is my gender is neither male nor female but I do strongly align with femininity|date=25 January 2018}}</ref> | ||
* [[Kate Bornstein]] (b. 1948) is an author, playwright, performance artist, and gender theorist. Bornstein is "a non-binary femme-identified trans person".<ref name="Raymond">{{Cite web |title=Interview: Kate Bornstein on Their Broadway Debut in Straight White Men |last=Raymond |first=Gerard |work=Slant Magazine |date=July 11, 2018 |access-date=May 16, 2020 |url= https://www.slantmagazine.com/interviews/pretty-damn-bowie-kate-bornstein-on-their-broadway-debut-in-straight-white-men/}}</ref> | |||
* [[Sand Chang|Sand C. Chang]], PhD., is a Chinese-American clinical psychologist and educator.<ref name="tran_Sand">{{Cite web |title=Sand Chang |author= |work=Trans Bodies, Trans Selves |date= |access-date=6 April 2020 |url= http://transbodies.com/people/sand-chang-2/}}</ref> Dr. Chang is one of the authors of ''A Clinician's Guide to Gender-Affirming Care: Working with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Clients''. They are [[nonbinary]], [[genderqueer]], [[genderfluid]], [[demiboy]],<ref name="yout_Ep69">{{Cite web |title=Ep 69 Dr. Sand Chang Licensed Psychologist Interview |last=Kramer |first=Kaiya |work=The Queer Life Radio |date=11 December 2015 |access-date=6 April 2020 |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtFtRleENew}}</ref> and femme.<ref name="Harrison">{{Cite web |title=Food Psych #150: Disordered Eating & Gender Identity with Sand Chang |first=Christy|last= Harrison |date=2 April 2018 |access-date=28 April 2020 |url= https://christyharrison.com/foodpsych/5/eating-disorder-recovery-gender-identity-with-sand-chang}}</ref> | |||
* [[Sharon daVanport]] is an activist who founded what is now the Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network (formerly Autism Women's Network<ref name="Ho">{{Cite web |title=Disability & Intersectionality Summit: Interview with Sharon daVanport |author=Ho, Sandy |work=Disability Visibility Project |date=7 May 2018 |access-date=28 May 2020 |url= https://disabilityvisibilityproject.com/2018/05/07/disability-intersectionality-summit-interview-with-sharon-davanport/}}</ref>). DaVanport is a nonbinary femme.<ref name="ECE">{{Cite web |title=PEOPLE: Why Sharon daVanport built a support network for autistic women and nonbinary people |author= |work=Echo Chamber Escape |date=May 26, 2020 |access-date=May 28, 2020 |url= https://echochamberescape.com/2020/05/26/people-why-sharon-davanport-built-a-support-network-for-autistic-women-and-nonbinary-people</ref> | |||
* [[Sassafras Lowrey]] is an author and journalist, known for hir books about dogs.<ref name="Metraux">{{Cite web |title=How Sassafras Lowrey Made Writing About Dogs a Career |last=Métraux |first=Julia |work=Narratively |date=6 March 2020 |access-date=8 May 2020 |url= https://narratively.com/how-sassafras-lowrey-made-writing-about-dogs-a-career/}}</ref> Lowrey is [[genderqueer]], [[trans]], femme, queer, polyamorous, and [[asexual]].<ref>{{cite tweet|user= sassafraslowrey|number= 1182723625448685568|date=11 October 2019|title=and to have made a core aspect of my career around writing the queerest books and stories I can imagine. Happy #NationalComingOutDay Queerly yours a: #runaway, formerly #homeless, #genderqueer, #trans, #femme, #queer, #polyamorous, #asexual, #little, #leather boy}}</ref> | |||
{{Clear}} | |||
== See also == | == See also == | ||