Lipstick Lesbians In The City
Posted on June 19, 2008
Filed Under Gay/Lesbian, New York, NYC, Women | 3 Comments
This week in the Village Voice, we discover that femme lesbians are running rampant in New York City. Thanks in part to a couple of new parties (such as Eden and Showstopper), the influence of new promoters, as well as the success of The L Word. No longer do lesbians have to sport the regulatory short do, baggy jeans and Doc Martens to fit in. Do they now have to be fit, toned and girly to fit in?
In the ’90’s we had a lesbian chic moment that lasted a minute or two. kd Lang appeared on the Vanity Fair cover with Cindy Crawford, Newsweek had two white yuppie lesbian on it’s cover proclaiming Lesbian Chic, and a sexy, lesbian party had taken off at Cafe Tabac in the East Village. The trend started to gain momentum and soon after Ellen came out, Melissa Etheridge and Julie Cypher had a baby, and gays and lesbians were becoming more mainstream in the media.
The L Word is the first, the only, show that has represented lesbian life as cool and glamorous. The women on the show are all lipstick or femme butch (Shane). Not exactly representative of the lesbian community as we know it, but perhaps a way to provide titillation without threatening the viewer. Let’s face it, a butch dyke having sex with another dyke, would never get past the heterosexual execs at the networks.
While I welcome that women are empowered and embracing their femininity, style and success, we must welcome lesbians of all shapes, sizes, and color, lipstick or not. We are all women who love women, and society needs to embrace us all. Not only the ones that “pass”.
Comments
3 Responses to “Lipstick Lesbians In The City”
Thank you for posting this response to the Village Voice article. I was prepping myself to write a letter to the editor when I came upon your blog. I have to say I felt disturbed by the piece for it’s one-sided approach to current lesbian culture and for it’s uninformed view of what it meant to be a lesbian in the NYC of the 90’s, particularly as the defining and redefining of identity that occurred during that time, was a precursor to the rise of the so-called “glamorous power lesbian”. We didn’t even need TV to tell us how to do it! I realize the piece wasn’t intended to be a history lesson, but perhaps a more informed nod to the past would have made for a stronger work.
Thank you Maya for your comment.
Yes, I agree. A history lesson would have helped particularly for the younger generation of lesbians whose only point of reference is the L Word.
Although It is great that there is an article in a mainstream /free publication about lesbians, we don’t want to perpetuate the stereotypes that we as women and lesbians have been fighting against for so long.
As a femme, lipstick-gay woman who has also dated men, I think it’s fabulous that my side of the gay story is being recognized! Hey, don’t hate on it, be glad that gay women are being portrayed AT ALL. If your point is true that most gay women are not lipstick, be happy for us in that an even smaller minority is being represented in the media.