#femme imagery

Kris | Femme Lesbian | 52 years old

[Business Owner/Consultant, Grandmother, Mother, Activist, Friend, Sage, Sarcastic Observer of The World | Seattle, Washington]

“I wish people knew, understood, that it’s not about playing a role—one of us is the man and one of us is the woman.  The butch/femme dynamic is about so much more than that and most people, many lesbians included, never bother to ask or learn. 

 I wish the heteronormative culture had the ability to expand beyond itself and understand that being femme and lesbian doesn’t mean you are confused and that being masculine of center doesn’t mean she wishes she were a man.  That fact that I am a lesbian is a critical part of my identity and I don’t want, and don’t accept, anyone saying “it doesn’t matter, I just see you as a person”. I get the idea behind it but that makes me invisible.   It does matter, it matters to me and influences my life and choices in everything I do.  I want straight people to get that.  Beyond that, I wish the politically correct lesbians, the “sporty” dykes, the “I don’t want a label” lesbians would simply be respectful that my identity, my gender even, is a Femme Lesbian.  And Butches need to understand it’s not a competition about who it’s harder for.  We’re Gay, it’s hard for all of us sometimes.”

[From the Butch/Femme Photo Project]