Lesbianism: Femmes and Lipstick Lesbians

Lesbianism is a real sexuality which is studied heavily, mainly because when something is not fully understood, the idea is looked into and conceptualized rigorously. Since the formation of religion, lesbianism has been looked upon as a sin; as technology has advanced and time has passed, people have slowly become more accepting. Heterosexuals often misunderstand lesbians, as do lesbians who judge others of the same sexual identity. Most people think all lesbians are the same, masculine women. However, that is not the case, sexuality is more fluid and lesbians, like the rest of us, are individuals. The lesbian community is diverse, and stereotypical misunderstandings, much like the ones that exist in the straight community about lesbians, exist among lesbians themselves.

In order to fully understand the presented topic some terms need to be defined. Many people do not know the full definition of these terms because they are often misused. First, a butch is usually a lesbian that is masculine, but it can also be used to call either sex masculine. Femme is the opposite, usually it refers to a lesbian who is feminine, but it also means a drag-queen, and it can be used to describe either females or males as feminine (Queer-ictionary). Commonly when people think of lesbians, they think of butch/femme relationship where one takes on the role of a boy, the butch, and the other takes on a feminine role, the femme. This is the type of relationship most people think of when when lesbian relationships are talked about. However, there are also lipstick lesbians, who are usually closeted lesbians who reject the idea of butches and love to wear makeup, get dressed up, and wear high heels. Usually lipstick lesbians are attracted to other lipsti...

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...ers would increase, which appears to be the case.

People find it hard to understand others that are different from them. With education and exposure to all types of lesbians and gay men, stereotypes and misunderstandings of non con-formative individuals may decrease. Gender norms and stereotypes go hand in hand, however, most people bend these in some way or another. It is important to understand lesbians and sexuality is not a clear cut concept, it is fluid. The queer community as a whole also needs to learn to become more accepting of each other and support people regardless of how they present themselves. Stereotypes are just an attitude towards a group of individuals and does not need to lead to prejudice, a behavior against groups. So far, the LGBT community has come a long way from stereotypes, but there is more to do in order to fit them into social norms.