There are a number of things lesbians have around them or are somehow drawn to own/use. I can't explain this, but it's true. Three of the most important are: 1. An HRC "=" sticker on the car. 2. A book of famous lesbians/uppity women somewhere in the house. 3. Hoodies. This artifact brought to you by Krista, author of what should be my blog. It's called Effing Dykes, and here is where you can find it. I know. I hate her, too. Unfortunately, I also think the sun shines out of her ass because she has the cajones to write this fantastically snarky, adorable femme-lezzie window on life.
Here's why I chose them: I think that, since the idea of being a "lipstick lesbian/femme lesbian" is kind of boring in re: clothes and music and other things--we're sort of exactly like straight women. We're girly-girls. We like makeup and dollies and high heels and skirts and lingerie and puppies and kitties and the color pink. Also we like glitter and jewelry. Virtually identical to how straight women dress and present themselves to the world. We watch chick movies. We enjoy being guided through doors with someone's hand at the small of our backs. We enjoy being handed in and out of cars, and we love chivalrous acts generally (especially from handsome butch women, if we're into the whole butch/femme thing). That said, I chose these items because they are quintessentially lesbian, and femmes and butches and studs and bois and stems and baby dykes and bike punks lesbians and andros all have these things.
In order, here is what I think about each of these objects:
1. The HRC sticker: I know that this object is meant as a subtle but unambiguous sign that the person who drives this car is gay or gay-friendly. It's an 'equal' sign--it symbolizes the desire for the LGBT community to have equal marriage rights specifically, and human rights generally. I guess, this symbol makes me feel like I'm in good company, driving behind someone who has the same sentiment on same-sex marriage. Within the subculture, it's like a secret handshake of recognition. It's connected to the other artifacts because it's a symbol of pride and the desire to be recognized as equal to straight America by both society and law. This artifact reflects the values of my subculture which are similar to the best values of straight culture: wanting to have stable, legal, mutually nurturing and safe relationships, and wanting to be seen for who we are within the greater culture--it's a way of quietly standing up and being counted--if you count the number of "=" stickers on the road, you feel less alone, and like the straight people will begin to see that we might be a minority, but we're real, and there are a lot of us around. And we're nice! We'll let you on the freeway during rush hour! This sticker is used as a way of recognizing each other (which means safety to be onesself, too), and to tell the world quietly and politely that we may be numerous, but there is still legal and social injustice against us, and there's an easy way to rectify this problem. The "=" sign says 'we want to be equal to you--not better, not given special treatment, not given any unfair advantages--just equal; no more, no less." I suppose I could ask HRC representatives to go into detail about how they chose a yellow "=" sign on a blue field as a way to express an entire movement, when they decided that this would go well on cars, and how people might feel about putting their sexual orientation out there for the world to possibly judge harshly. The three (or more) most important things this artifact tells me about this subculture are a) that we seek marriage equality despite the constant political struggle to secure it, b) we want to recognize each other in a "secret handshake" sort of way, and c) that we're not going crazy with passion about wanting equality--we really just want to lead quiet lives, and be equal to our straight friends and families.
2. The Famous Lesbian/Uppity Women Book: I know this object is a way of validating the importance of powerful/queer women to society. I think this kind of book is important for lesbians to have because it's a way to bolster our confidence about being who we are when we're feeling less than badass, or after we've suffered from sense of inferiority or feeling targeted for hate or intolerence. The book, the sticker, and the hoodie go together to present a sense of pride, but also of privateness and subtlety in our expressions of ourselves as queer-identifying. This book represents the values of female strength and capability; it shows that we can be useful to society by being who we are. This object is used to make us feel better about ourselves, and to give us a sense of connection to and inspiration from women who didn't just follow the rules. This indicates that the women who own these books need a little reassurance about their badassness every once in a while. I think I could easily research the uppity/lesbian badass women themselves, but the existence and importance of these books on lesbian bookshelves are kind of hard to quantify/qualify. The three (or more) things this artifact tells me about this subculture are: a) lesbians need reassuring that we live large and kick ass, b) lesbians need heroes up to whom to look, and c) having these books is an affirmation of our usefulness and importance in greater society.
3. Hoodies: I know these objects were first noted by Krista of Effing Dykes to be both fashionable and an indicator that we're not (in my case, half the time) looking for male approval--and that sometimes we're interested in commandeering some masculine looks for our very own. I guess, that makes it important just because it makes us feel...cool. It's connected to the other artifacts because it is a subtle expression of our queermo tendencies without being obnoxious or too obvious--those of us who know our tribe will recognize each other in them, and people outside the tribe won't look twice, because they're all over general fashion these days. The hoodie reflects a basic lesbian principle: comfy is sexy. Also sexy is sexy, and especially Puma Ferrari track-jacket-style hoodies are very sexy. Lesbians (especially young and/or femme ones and bois) are very conscious of our appearances--we're obsessed with looking fashionable and a little edgy. This object is used to keep the lesbian wearing it from looking stupid, getting cold, or feeling underdressed. It shows that lesbians are sort of a superficial group who does judge within itself very superficially. I'm not sure there is a way to research the hoodie and its impact on lesbianism....
The three or more most important things this artifact tells me about this subculture are: a) don't leave home without a suitably-masculine pullover for your freeze-baby butch when it gets chilly, b) hoodies are a way to dress down any outfit, making it immediately more queer-friendly and c) Women who wear hoodies are generally removing themselves from having to be attracted to men, which means they're fair game for a girl who likes girls! :)
Really ! How Intreasting
ReplyDelete