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55-438: Femme refers to a type of lesbian culture. Femme or La Femme may also refer to: Femme Femme ( / f ɛ m / ; French: [fam] , literally meaning "woman") is a term traditionally used to describe a lesbian woman who exhibits a feminine identity or gender presentation . While commonly viewed as a lesbian term, alternate meanings of the word also exist with some non-lesbian individuals using

110-992: A medical doctor , etc. In the Soviet Union, women were allowed to take up traditionally male occupations such as construction work , but were paid less. Employers sometimes preferred women workers and sometimes male workers. In some former Soviet countries, gender equality went into reverse after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Gender nonconforming transgender people in the United States have been demonstrated to have worse overall health outcomes than transgender individuals who identify as men or women. Gender norms vary by country and by culture, as well as across historical time periods within cultures. For example, in Pashtun tribes in Afghanistan, adult men frequently hold hands, without being perceived as gay, whereas in

165-544: A butch partner. In Nestle's text on femme identity, "The Femme Question", she challenges this commonly held belief by stating that butch-femme relationships are "filled with a deeply lesbian language of stance, dress, gesture, love, courage and autonomy." Arlene Istar Lev argues that through their subversive appropriation of heteronormative gender roles, these identities were considered "complex erotic and social statements" rooted in "gendered erotic identities". Nestle states that they publicly declared same-sex love between women at

220-756: A form of contemporary feminism which rejects the gender binary and acknowledges that individuals can fall anywhere within the gender spectrum, resulting in the possibility to be gender-less, gender-fluid, femme or masculine of center. Often using the phrase "women and femmes", adherents to this definition of femme believe that misogyny is used not only against women to inflict theoretical and physical violence but primarily against all feminine people. Connecting cisgendered male violence to toxic masculinity, they believe that patriarchy not only negatively affects female-identified people but men as well. Many prominent femme-identified voices in mainstream media tend to be transfeminine and or non-binary individuals. The term femme

275-453: A form of gender expression and is not necessarily related to erotic activity, nor is it indicative of sexual orientation. Other gender-nonconforming men prefer to simply modify and stylise men's clothing as an expression of their interest in appearance and fashion. Gender-affirmative practices recognize and support an individual's unique gender self-identification and expression. Gender-affirmative practices are becoming more widely adopted in

330-489: A guide entitled "Inclusive Language Guide: Respecting people of intersex, trans and gender diverse experience" which clearly distinguishes between different bodily and identity groups. Multiple studies have suggested a correlation between children who express gender nonconformity and their eventually coming out as gay , bisexual , or transgender . In multiple studies, a majority of those who identify as gay or lesbian self-report gender nonconformity as children. However,

385-413: A high incidence of gay males self-reporting gender-atypical behaviors in childhood, such as having little interest in athletics and a preference for playing with dolls. The same study found that mothers of gay males recalled such atypical behavior in their sons with much greater frequency than mothers of heterosexual males. For women, adult gender nonconformity is often associated with lesbianism due to

440-445: A more masculine gender expression than bisexual women. 4.5 percent of the bisexual women they studied identified as butch compared to the 30.1 percent of lesbians who did. Lesbians were more sexually attracted to women whose gender expressions contrasted theirs, and bisexual women were more sexually attracted to those whose gender expressions were more similar to theirs. Levitt and Bridges theorized that "this finding may be in part due to

495-476: A rejection of the butch-femme dynamic and therefore femme identity. During the emergence of lesbian feminism, femme lesbians were accused by prominent lesbian feminist figures of aping patriarchal beauty standards for wearing traditional feminine clothing. Black lesbian feminist poet and activist Audre Lorde wrote in Tar Beach that "butch and femme role playing was the very opposite of what we felt being gay

550-405: A result of fear, embarrassment, etc from the individual's friends and family. Some examples of recovery strategies are hiding non-conforming behavior, conforming to gender norms, etc. In Laurie A. Rudman and Kimberly Fairchild (2004) experiment participants were atypical men and women who were said to have more similarities and knowledge about the opposite atypical sex after taking a survey. In

605-777: A sexual minority sexual orientation, which is also consistent with findings from other research. This substantial overlap between non-binary gender and sexual minority status is intriguing and supports the conceptualization that "non-traditional" gender identities (i.e., outside the gender binary) and sexual orientation are distinct yet interrelated constructs. Bisexual and gay male individuals who do not conform to traditional gender norms might experience increased discrimination compared to those who do. One study found Latino gay and bisexual men that identify as gender nonconforming faced higher levels of homophobia and psychological distress compared to their gender-conforming counterparts. Furthermore, nonconforming to traditional gender norms may elevate

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660-555: A term from an already marginalised society is a form of misogynist appropriation that undervalues lesbian identities, history and women's autonomy to self-identify outside patriarchal structures. In her paper, Femme Theory: Refocusing the Intersectional Lens, femme theorist Rhea Hoskin offers an intersectional framework of femme theory and addresses the capabilities of subversive femininities. She uses an intersectional lens to address discourse surrounding femme-phobia and

715-429: A time when there was no liberation movement to support or protect them, and adds that "in the 1950s particularly, butch-femme couples were the front-line warriors against sexual bigotry. Because they were so visible, they suffered the brunt of street violence. The irony of social change has made a radical, sexual, political statement of the 1950s appear today a reactionary, non feminist experience." Lesbian feminism saw

770-542: A topic of controversy for three decades. In the works of Hill, Carfagnini and Willoughby (2007), Bryant (2004), "suggests that treatment protocols for these children and adolescents, especially those based on converting the child back to a stereotypically gendered youth, make matters worse, causing them to internalize their distress." Treatment for GID in children and adolescents may have negative consequences. Studies suggest that treatment should focus more on helping children and adolescents feel comfortable living with GID. There

825-617: A young adult. A 2012 study found that both children who will be heterosexual and children who will have a minority sexual orientation who expressed gender nonconformity before the age of 11 were more likely to experience abuse physically , sexually , and psychologically . Roberts et al. (2013) found that of participants in their study aged between 23 and 30, 26% of those who were gender nonconforming experienced some sort of depressive symptoms, versus 18% of those were gender-conforming. Treatment for gender identity disorders (GID; now known as gender dysphoria ) such as gender variance have been

880-539: Is "typical" for one culture may be "atypical" for another. People from cultures who conceptualize gender as polar opposites on a binary, or having only two options, may see cultures with third gender people, or fluid gender expressions, and the people who live in these gender roles, as "atypical". Gender expressions that some cultures might consider "atypical" could include: Recovery strategies are actions that gender non-conforming individuals take on due to encounters with backlash from society. These strategies can also be

935-484: Is a comparatively recent development in historical terms, because the dress and careers of women used to be more heavily policed, and still are in countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia (where they are regulated by law.) The success of second-wave feminism is the chief reason for the freedom of women in the West to wear traditionally-male clothing such as trousers , or to take up traditionally-male occupations such as being

990-458: Is a feeling of distress that overwhelms a child or adolescent with GID that gets expressed through gender. Hill et al. (2007) states, "if these youth are distressed by having a condition deemed by society as unwanted, is this evidence of a disorder?" Bartlett and colleagues (2000) note that the problem in determining distress is aggravated in GID cases because usually, it is not clear whether distress in

1045-421: Is a femme-identified person who does not always dress or act in a "traditionally feminine" (meaning a feminine aesthetic, such as wearing makeup, heels, and numerous accessories) way, but who expresses femme identity through feminine-associated behaviours, interactions and political views. Rather than an erotic identity rooted in lesbian women's culture, queer femme has been reframed into a political identity that

1100-515: Is also essential to ballroom culture through the terms butch queen and femme queen , denoting a gay man and transgender woman respectively. By the 1990s, the term femme had additionally been adopted by bisexual women. Citing research from the 1990s, Levitt and Bridges stated that the terms butch and femme "began infiltrating bisexual communities, and women began writing about their experiences as bisexual femmes", but also that "very little empirical research has been conducted looking at

1155-867: Is an individual's ability to identify as and express the gender(s) that feels most comfortable without the fear of rejection. Gender-affirmative practices are informed by the following premises: Mental health practitioners have begun integrating the gender-affirmative model into cognitive behavioral therapy , person-centered therapy , and acceptance and commitment therapy . While taking different approaches, each therapeutic modality may prove beneficial to gender-variant people looking to self-actualize, cope with minority stress, or navigate personal, social, and occupational issues across their lifespan. Gender expectations, like other social norms , can vary widely by culture. A person may be seen as expressing an atypical gender role when their gender expression and activities differ from those usually expected in that culture. What

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1210-586: Is deliberately broad, encompassing such specific terms as transsexual , butch and femme , queen , sissy , tomboy , femboy , travesti , or hijra . The word transgender usually has a narrower meaning and different connotations, including an identification that differs from the gender assigned at birth . GLAAD (formerly the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation)'s Media Reference Guide defines transgender as an "umbrella term for people whose gender identity or gender expression differs from

1265-503: Is inclusive of all who wish to identify with it, feminine-presenting or not. As femme has moved into the mainstream, it has also been connected to notions of emotional labor , witchcraft and self-empowerment . Based on the understanding of femme as describing a person (not necessarily a woman) who presents femininely, the expression "women and femmes" is sometimes used, but it has been criticized as conflating two different categories of identity. Femme has also been used to describe

1320-407: Is limited, available findings indicate similar trends. Furthermore, understanding gender variance especially in young children, can be complex, making it challenging for social workers to empathize. Moreover, school social workers often work in environments that emphasize "heteronormativity" where femininity and masculinity are defined based on heterosexual relationships, making it difficult to address

1375-536: Is neither an 'essence' that gender expresses or externalizes nor an objective ideal to which gender aspires." Butler argues that gender is not an inherent aspect of identity, further stating, "...One might try to reconcile the gendered body as the legacy of sedimented acts rather than a predetermined or foreclosed structure, essence or fact, whether natural, cultural, or linguistic". Research into nonbinary gender identities has found this: The overwhelming majority of non-binary respondents ... identified as having

1430-443: Is the external manifestation of one's gender identity, usually through "masculine", "feminine", or gender-variant presentation or behavior. In Australia, the term gender-diverse or, historically, sex and/or gender-diverse , may be used in place of, or as well as, transgender . Culturally-specific gender diverse terms include sistergirls and brotherboys , for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Ambiguities about

1485-446: The work force , the identity became a characteristic of the working class lesbian bar culture of the 1940s–1950s. By the 1990s, the term femme had additionally been adopted by bisexual women. Scholars Heidi M. Levitt and Sara K. Bridges state that the terms butch and femme are derived from the 1940s–1950s American lesbian communities following World War II "when women joined the work force and began wearing pants, creating

1540-456: The 70s through 90s, gay male culture included the phrase "No Fats, No Femmes", and that persists in queer dating culture today. Constrained by character limitations on gay hookup apps such as Grindr and Scruff , "fem", "femm", and "femme" are used as an abbreviation for feminine. The ubiquitous phrase "No Fats, No Fems", indicating that a user does not want to be contacted by men of a certain size or feminine men , has been challenged by some in

1595-439: The West this behavior would, in most circumstances, be seen as proof of a homosexual relationship. However, in many cultures, behaviors such as crying, an inclination toward caring for and nurturing others in an emotionally open way, an interest in domestic chores other than cooking, and self-grooming can all be seen as aspects of male gender nonconformity. Men who exhibit such tendencies are often stereotyped as gay. Studies found

1650-511: The accuracy of some of these studies have been questioned. One study suggested that childhood gender nonconformity is heritable . Studies have also been conducted about adults' attitudes towards nonconforming children. There are reportedly no significant generalized effects (except for a few outliers) on attitudes towards children who vary in gender traits, interests, and behavior. Children who are gender-variant may struggle to conform later in life. As children get older and are not treated for

1705-420: The bisexual community in online discourse, particularly with women of color and other BIPOC , as many found the animal-based terms to be demeaning, dehumanizing, and historically fraught. The contemporary queer concepts of femme have been challenged by lesbians who still use the term based on its original meaning. With concern about the erasure of lesbian culture and history, it has been argued that taking

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1760-551: The child is due to gender variance or secondary effects (e.g., due to ostracization or stigmatization). Hill et al. (2007) suggests, "a less controversial approach, respectful of increasing gender freedom in our culture and sympathetic to a child's struggle with gender, would be more humane." Numerous studies confirm that LGBTQ+ students face increased instances of victimization in schools compared to their heterosexual peers, leading to lower well-being and academic performance. While research on gender variant adolescent school experience

1815-406: The different aesthetics that are available and popular within lesbian and bisexual communities." The term femme has also been used to refer to gender non-conforming people who do not identify as lesbian or to transgender or non-binary people. In 1994, Kate Bornstein chronicled their experience as a gender non-conforming person who is a femme lesbian in their book Gender Outlaw . Praising

1870-408: The experiments conducted the results showed that the participants who feared backlash because of the results were more likely to hide their non-conforming behavior or conform to the gendered norms. Hiding non-conforming behavior means repressing the behavior going against gender norms. In J.M Brennan the change in gender identity of a non-conforming man or women can cause this hiding and concealment of

1925-406: The expression and experience of gender expression and gender identity within bisexual women." It has however also been argued by bi+ and other queer activists that since the term bisexual is relatively newer than lesbian, and the term bisexual as a sexual orientation only began to take shape in the mid-19th century, bisexual women historically once formed part of the lesbian community and thus used

1980-580: The femme identity to outline "soft femme theory." She asserts that in the mid-to-late 20th century, "femme" was used to describe rough, badass women. Today, however, especially on social media, the word "femme" is used to describe the "soft, sad girl" trope that is commonly seen online and in trending fashions. While Schwartz offers a critique of this aesthetic and the erasure of pre-internet femme identities, she also considers how "performing softness" as an identifier for femininity, both on and offline, can be effective in transgressing hegemonic gender norms. From

2035-630: The femme identity, sexual attraction differences between butches and femmes began to be analyzed. Scholars Cheris Kramarae and Dale Spender wrote, "Femme diversity is also manifested in the sexual arena. As many femmes may be attracted exclusively to butches, some are attracted to other femmes, and still others are also attracted to men and consider themselves bisexual." Some research has indicated that butches are more likely to be exclusively lesbian, while femmes are sometimes bisexual. In 2005, preliminary research conducted by Levitt and Bridges indicated that lesbians are more likely to identify as butch and have

2090-471: The gay community for perpetuating homonormative beauty ideals. "Fem" is used as a descriptor of one's appearance or mannerisms. Partly in response to the controversy which emerged regarding which communities are entitled to use femme as a personal identity, as well as in recent efforts to carve out unique bisexual identifiers, bi terms were proposed as equivalents to butch and femme among other gender expressions and presentations. This largely arose in 2016 on

2145-521: The inclusion or exclusion of intersex people in terminology, such as sex and/or gender-diverse , led to a decline in use of the terms sex and/or gender-diverse and diverse sexes and genders (DSG). Current regulations providing for the recognition of trans and other gender identities use terms such as gender diverse and transgender . In July 2013, the Australian National LGBTI Health Alliance produced

2200-882: The limited identities women are faced with in adulthood. Lesbian and bisexual women, being less concerned with attracting men, may find it easier to reject traditional ideas of womanhood because social punishment for such transgression is not effective, or at least no more effective than the consequences of being openly gay or bisexual in a heteronormative society (which they already experience). This may help account for high levels of gender nonconformity self-reported by lesbians. Gender theorist Judith Butler , in their essay Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory , states: "Discrete genders are part of what humanizes individuals within contemporary culture; indeed, those who fail to do their gender right are regularly punished. Because there

2255-475: The mainstream, femme became a catch-all term to describe a feminine lesbian. Citing research from the 1990s, Levitt and Bridges stated that the terms butch and femme "began infiltrating bisexual communities, and women began writing about their experiences as bisexual femmes", but also that "very little empirical research has been conducted looking at the expression and experience of gender expression and gender identity within bisexual women." With expansion of

Femme (disambiguation) - Misplaced Pages Continue

2310-464: The medical and psychological settings has primarily shown positive treatment outcomes. As these practices become more widely used, longer-term studies and studies with larger sample sizes are needed to continue to evaluate these practices. Research has shown that youth who receive gender-affirming support from their parents have better mental health outcomes than their peers who do not. Gender-affirmative practices emphasize gender health. Gender health

2365-505: The mental and physical health fields in response to research showing that clinical practices that encourage individuals to accept a certain gender identity can cause psychological harm. In 2015, the American Psychological Association published gender-affirmative practice guidelines for clinicians working with transgender and gender-nonconforming people. Preliminary research on gender-affirmative practices in

2420-437: The mismatch between their minds and bodily appearance, this leads to discomfort, and negative self-image and eventually may lead to depression , suicide , or self-doubt . If a child is nonconforming at a very young age, it is important to provide family support for positive impact to family and the child. Children who do not conform prior to age 11 tend to have an increased risk for depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation as

2475-592: The needs of gender variant children. Gender nonconformity among people assigned male at birth is usually more strictly, and sometimes violently, policed in the West than is gender nonconformity among people assigned female at birth. However, a spectrum of types of gender nonconformity exists among boys and men. Some types of gender nonconformity, such as being a stay-at-home father , may pass without comment whereas others, such as wearing lipstick and skirts, may attract stares, criticism, or questioning. Some cultures are more tolerant than others of such differences. This

2530-465: The possibility for the development of a butch aesthetic and gender expression within gay women's communities." They state that "the butch-femme culture made lesbians visible for the first time." Femme lesbian scholar Joan Nestle describes the femme lesbian identity as being underrepresented in historical records, with femme women having been often attacked for passing as straight while also being accused of imitating heteronormativity for pairing with

2585-698: The publication of Ivan Coyote 's Persistence: All Ways Butch and Femme in 2011, Bornstein said, "The butch/femme dynamic is a conscious, loving binary of desire and trust ... it's a dance of love and outlawed romance. Butches and femmes share a sense of tribe, extended family and kinship—no matter what our genders might be." Since the late 2010s, influenced by the emergence of queer and transgender culture on sites such as Tumblr , Everyday Feminism, and Autostraddle , femme has been expanded to describe feminine people across gender and sexuality categories including heterosexual women, cisgender men and transfeminine people. The postmodern queer conception of femme

2640-500: The rise of political lesbianism in 1979. Hence, the adoption of femme by bisexuals in the 1990s is considered by some to be a re-adoption by a portion of the same community following the distinction between lesbians and bisexual women and the lesbian separatist movement of the 1970s. Theorists have used aesthetics to analyze and addresses the evolution of the word "femme" throughout the 21st century. Femme theorist Andi Schwartz uses comparisons of modern and historical associations of

2695-401: The risk of suicide attempts among gay adolescents, whereas studies on lesbians do not consistently show similar patterns. This may be attributed to heightened mistreatment of boys displaying feminine traits, by parents and peers. Among adults, the wearing of women's clothing by men is often socially stigmatized and fetishized , or viewed as sexually abnormal. However, cross-dressing may be

2750-450: The sex they were assigned at birth." Not all gender-variant people identify as transgender, and not all transgender people identify as gender-variant – many identify simply as men or women. Gender identity is one's internal sense of their own gender ; while most people have a gender identity of a boy or a man, or a girl or a woman, gender identity for other people is a more complex experience. Furthermore, gender expression

2805-459: The social media and blogging website Tumblr . The term coined for a feminine bisexual woman is “doe”, while “stag” signifies masculinity and “tomcat” represents androgyny. However this bi-specific lingo never caught on as much as the more widely-known “butch” and “femme”, even amongst the bisexual community itself, and one would be hard-pressed to find a bisexual who identifies as such offline. These neologisms quickly fell out of favor with some in

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2860-420: The term femme as a sub-group of lesbians. This argument posits that the claim that only women with no attraction to men have identified as femmes is ahistoric. While today there is a common consensus that the term lesbian refers to women who exclusively feel attraction towards women and femmes, the term has carried various changing implications and expansive interpretations throughout history, particularly with

2915-552: The ways in which this issue is not taken seriously as a form of oppression within the queer community and especially in academic feminist queer spaces. Gender non-conforming People who exhibit gender variance may be called gender-variant , gender-nonconforming , gender-diverse, or gender-atypical . The terms gender variance and gender-variant are used by scholars of psychology , psychiatry , anthropology , and gender studies , as well as advocacy groups of gender-variant people themselves. The term gender-variant

2970-440: The word, notably some gay men and bisexuals . Some non-binary and transgender individuals also identify as lesbians using this term. Heavily associated with lesbian history and culture, femme has been used among lesbians to distinguish traditionally feminine lesbians from their butch (i.e. masculine) lesbian counterparts and partners. Derived from American lesbian communities following World War II when women joined

3025-431: Was all about – the love of women". Many bisexual women also active in the lesbian community felt pressured to identify as "lesbian", resulting in bisexual erasure factoring into the history of femme identities. This is further impacted by the fact that bisexual communities and the related bisexual movement did not formalize until the 1970s. During the 1990s and the emergence of the lipstick lesbian identity into

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