The Meaning of Femme

topic posted Sat, February 11, 2006 - 10:39 PM by  theghostis
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In a world where stereotypes still rule yet we are expected to defy them all the same, definitions can be difficult to come by. Or rather these definitions are fluid and difficult to pin down. They may not even matter. But I was wondering, what is the meaning of "femme" ? Is femme only one side of a set of opposites--butch/femme? How is it independent? When I envision femme, I envision a female who almost parodies feminitity in her excess. She is costumed and painted. She might look like a greaser's girlfriend, with jet black hair, scarlet lips and 1950s style. Is femme a state of mind/being, or rather, is it an external expression of feminitiy? And how many femmes are attracted to other femmes?
posted by:
theghostis
SF Bay Area
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  • Re: The Meaning of Femme

    Sat, February 11, 2006 - 11:11 PM
    i consider myself a femme attracted to femmes...
    if I go for a "guy" they generally have very femme qualities (think bret from suede)
    if it's a t girl well then they're definitely femme, lol
    and when I go for a lady, i prefer them femme as well, not attracted to butches at all.
    so yeah femme all around!
    • Re: The Meaning of Femme

      Tue, February 14, 2006 - 6:49 PM
      > if it's a t girl well then they're definitely femme, lol

      Don't be so sure...I've known MtF butches, too. They're rare, but they're there. In a sense you could say that they've "trans-ed" (or are "trans-ing") their sex WITHOUT doing their gender as well.

      And many of the MtF TS/TG grrls I know (as opposed to the sort who would willingly attend such venues as Trannyshack, Diva's, or Asia SF) keep their image in a much more casual, if still femme, fashion most of the time. ('Cept when dressing for those special occasions, of course! ;-) ).

      Don't be so quick with a generalization!
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    Re: The Meaning of Femme

    Sun, February 12, 2006 - 2:46 PM
    I came out at a time when "Lipstick lesbians" was all the rage (I was living in L.A. at the time) in L.A. I felt like I was competing with these ultra femme women and nobody would even bat an eye unless I was more that way. I didn't care much for it in general...and I Didn't care much for the butch/femme thing either. (that if you're femme you gotta have a butch gf). I thought it was all labelling and didn't feel that I fit into them at all. I tend to have very andro energy but yet I come off as a power femme (not my words) because I tend to dress more on the femme side. My personality on the other hand is a different story.

    After being out for several years or so, I became more comfortable with myself (my body too) and I don't really look for women that fit into particular label...

    I just like what I like...
  • Re: The Meaning of Femme

    Mon, February 13, 2006 - 12:15 AM
    I consider myself a femme attracted to femmes. I would say that it's not a butch-femme dichotomy but a feminine-masculine one. Everyone embodies both sexes, and some choose/feel the need to exhibit more of one side or the other (or switch back and forth depending on the circumstances). I am very comfortable with my masculine side, as I have many male friends who are very comfortable with their feminine side.
  • Re: The Meaning of Femme

    Tue, February 14, 2006 - 6:45 PM
    I dunno...I personally take "femme" to be a wide spectrum of personnae, primarily defined by visual cues (generally longer hair, more "girly" modes of dress...tho this is all relative nowadays, wearing makeup at least sometimes, clothes that flatter rather than hide one's curves), and only secondarily by behaviorals ones (traditionally a more submissive demeanor, math/science/tech anxiety, tendancy toward "histrionics", being a "warm, caring nurturer"...oh wait, that's Stuart Smalley)...

    Nowadays, IMHO, it's mainly those visual cues that place one on the femme-andro-butch continuum at any given time.

    This much I know...I'm femme in a frilly blouse or heans and t-shirt. I'm femme although I can change my own damn tire, thankyouverymuch, and I keep my nails VERY short since I'm kinda toppy in bed. I speak my mind, shoot from the hip, tho I'm always trying to make those hips look, well...hippier. ;-)

    The example of femme-ness femme that Rose mentions would now more commonly be called, I think, a "lipstick lesbian" or "high femme".

    I guess, for me, the way to describe it is obviously giving off visual cues that read as "girl/woman" as opposed to "gender-neutral" or "boy/man".
  • m
    m
    offline 15

    Re: The Meaning of Femme

    Wed, February 15, 2006 - 12:55 PM
    i've been thinking about this for a while. in college i would have smacked anyone who called me femme. i was freshly out (within a month of HS graduation) and very invested in my industro-goth butch steel toe wearing pierced persona. however i had hair that came down to my hips! people called me butch or soft butch.

    then a while later i started dating a woman who could be anything she wanted with a simple costume change. i had always enjoyed playing dress up and not limiting myself to to a certain "scene" so i started re-expanding my warddrobe to include more women's clothes.... or rather clothing designed and intended to be worn by women.

    then i cut off all my hair and had caesars and flat tops for a while. this didn't stop me from wearing semi-formal dresses and thai silk skirts. occasionally i would wear a suit or a tux. i won the 2000 drag king contest at my university. :-)

    but there were 2 things that pushed me over to being more "femme" than "butch" in my wardrobe and presentation. 1: i gained 30 lbs. suddenly i had boobs! the boxy men's clothing i wore didn't work anymore. and hey, boobs! 2: the recession. i was desperate for a job and needed to present myself as palatably as possible. i grew out my hair and started buying slacks and shirts from the women's department. then i realized: this stuff fits me better!

    through all this i never really considered butch or femme to be more than a wardrobe choice and a strut to match that choice. i never respond to people who specify they want a femme. my daily uniform is tennis, jeans, and a t-shirt. what's up with this butch/femme crap? i just want someone who's hot. i hit on whoever. then the next problem comes into play. I'm bi. uh oh!

    >:-)
    • Re: The Meaning of Femme

      Wed, February 22, 2006 - 2:52 PM
      You are a sexy,intense,sweet,interesting ,intellectual,,who loves all the hot naughty ...
      You sound like heaven angel..
      Blessings to you,bliss day and night!
      L
  • Re: The Meaning of Femme

    Fri, February 17, 2006 - 8:50 PM
    I'm a femme in the state of dress more than the state of mind. My mind is an alchemical homunculus of hermaphroditic androgyny.

    And I consider myself attracted to all manner of femmes in body/mind.
  • Re: The Meaning of Femme

    Tue, February 21, 2006 - 1:47 PM
    i believe "femme" is a sliding scale.. and it embodies several dimensions such as the physical, mental, emotional and even spiritual qualities of the femme-butch spectrum. what comes to mind when i think of a femme is how i would define a Goddess. A Goddess strives for and emobies these virtues and values...
    - Love, compassion, understanding
    - Desire, passion, surrender
    - Truth, honesty, clarity
    - Beauty, inside and out
    - Harmony with Nature and all living creatures (i.e. MOTHER nature)
    - A Healer and Reconciler

    This is what femme means to me and is of course why i adore them and strive to follow a personal path of Goddessness on my own. Of course few of us are able to live by these ideals on an ongoing basis but what i do find is that Those that do have some of these aspects as a part of who They are, tend to be attractive people to me.

    Thanks for letting me join the group and conversation!

    hugz,
    darla xo
    • Re: The Meaning of Femme

      Wed, February 22, 2006 - 2:49 PM
      You are beautiful inside and out angel.!
      Intelligence and compassion are such an aphrodesiac of life!As well as lovers~
      Livelovelaughlearn
      BlessingKisses~
      Luna
    • A wild rant on the meaning of femme! Poem of SHE~

      Thu, February 23, 2006 - 1:03 AM
      Dear Goddesses~~~ONE and ALL
      This wild yet passionate rant is in response to the many views of what may constitute a woman as a FEMME women?I guess it reminds me of a debate going online in a lesbian site chat room as to what constiutes a beautiful woman?I feel the same is true at time in these queastions or arguements as a disgussion.I was so frustrated I wrote a poem and posted it to over 20,000 people to remind women what they might be forgetting in this disgussion...Poetry is my little soapbox to share,,,lust,love,seduction,pain and hopefully in the best of times,,joy,growth and a shift ??
      A shift to a more open , hearfelt view,,when things seem small....
      From this loving libra who just want the whole world to livelovelaughlearn........
      Here goes!!
      Yes we as humans love to classify and stereotype ,catagorise and analize every single thing.It is our logic,our brain and our heart of instinct.Yet that view changes as time passes,as do we as people,women,spirits.
      For example I may seem or appear as Femme as can be .So affectionate,bubbly,sensitive nuturing and so feminine in all beauty aspects..Allways in dresses,social butterfly,hostess w/mostess....Yet are theses things female really ,?Beside the dresses?Yet I feel as a balanced human,I need to explore sopposed (male )aspects of my personality.Or are they.Mabey just a balance to my full spectrum....Are they butchish or just behaviour that I adopt as a strong,confidant focused female?Are we not a complex ,multi faceted,full spectrum being ?Capable of many emotions,styles,textures and abitities,, to be and become,,anything?Many things at one time?We are capable of so much?We as females are truly so exceptional from our physiology ,anatomy,brain,beauty,stregnth....Must we fit into ny specific mold?Do we need to want to limit ourselves or eachother by these catagories only?
      Are we not as women,,the most amazing beautiful creatures not only for our style or physical beauty but our generousity,a willingness to hold ,love,heal,give until it hurts??Fall down and die emotionally and get up to love with a whole heart again??Nomater the age or size or sopposed beauty or butch/femme type,, are not those the things we charish most in ourselves and the women we love?
      I believe I feel love or see beauty in the people I hold dear because of how I love them for other qualities..This is why they also shine with beauty to me,,,How they love,,how we love .How it feels to look into this friend or lovers eyes and feel my soul so connected to theirs,,we both might cry.How she may put the car seat in the comfy place when she wants me to drive.When,,,I wake up from a nap ,,with her eyes on me so filled with love ,in the thows of passion or aross the grocerie store vegatable display...,When she brings me fresh ginger even though I ran out of it and never said it,,she just noticed ,,even though,,she doesnt eat ginger....it feels like a dream.When in the middle of the day she kissed your neck lightly and whispers you are my lifes dessert..
      All the love I recieve I try to give back,ten times more, as I can,,without expectation or condition.I feel the beauty of knowing the energy goes on,passing through all of us to the world.Like prayer,,loving,compassionate and generous hearts,uniting us all..
      The poems I write are about are these moments in life.The best of women I have been blessed to know and the very best of myself.I write about everything I hope to embody and give in life.Whether I have experienced it or simply wish to be the very best I can be as a woman...I might be oversimplifying a diffuclt issue for some.I hope you who read this ,see,I am just throwing out a view....It works for me,,right now...
      Sometimes yes it may be sexy as hell when she straps those big black steel toed Boots on..Hiding her sexy self in tight jeans,Or is it the thigh high stillettos?Or the vitamins she bought you at the health store?Or when she brings you a her sweater on a cold morning.Or when she works on the car?OR when she cooks you cream puffs...Or when she paints her toes naked on the bed with rollers in her hair??Are these things male or female,butch of femme?Does it matter?They somtimes may be the things that do attract us ,or flip our sensual switch like no other.They are still not the reasons we love..They are just other details about whom we love.Not the whole....A small detail compared to love...
      Are we a little differerant,yes,,Arent we all???I rejoice in the differances and revel in the things wet each eachother from this fact.
      We are women,beautiful amazing females all.Capable of everything and anything we wish!To be and explore as we so desire.

      I think at times the outer look ,the shape of things,in our society can be dwelled apon far too much.Even though,I work in the feild of beauty as an artist!!I strive to fid the balance on seeing TRUE beauty.We can loose site of our intention.The classification and analazation has become a somtimes rigid way we describe and limit ourselves in a way we may never have intended,,simply to explain and describe who we are,what we like...What we want...
      I am learning myself in this way.Extreme growth and change in the last 2 years,has been a gift ,,yet difficult..Enlightening to be sure..On what are the words to describe me?Do I fit a type?Do I need to?
      What has helped me ,is to see the beauty in all people,whatever the context.Is the look for the strength,the beauty inside of all people.Each person,thier journey,seperate path and the willpower we all must have to go on in our own unique way.Survive and learn from life,doing the very best we can.That is beautiful and we all do this in a differant way..We are spectacular creatures ,one and all.
      As a maiden of Goddess worship and the spiritual focus on enlightenment through feminine energy of the earth,nature and the mother of all,,,,,,,,,
      ,I see all women as powerful,beautiful,transendant creatures....
      The beauty we see in others we share and grow from within.
      It is compassion to see the strength within the weakness.In ouselves and in all.
      The light within the dark.
      The sweet within the sour.
      To look for balance in ourselfes first,blessing others with the wish they find the same.
      Beauty and balance surface and within.Living and loving ,above and below!
      Is any of this Butch or Femme?Bi-sexual/lesbian?
      Yes we will allways analize and ,catagorise and I will suffer to find balance with my heart as well as my curious intectual mind to listen to my heart,remember what is important.
      See what is beautiful,inside and out....

      Thanks for reading,suffering my spelling and opening your heart.
      Blessed be all.
      Livelovelaughlearn
      Luna


      ~~~~~~~~~She~~~~~~~~~
      She is an angel I do adore,her spirit ,body and mind.
      She is a woman I appreciate,loving,unique and kind.
      She is genuine to her center,she gives love to all she knows.
      She is a female Goddess incarnate for whom my love still grows.
      She shares deeply with her friends,inside open loving arms.
      She treasures her beloved,with her sweet infectious charm.
      She speaks from her heart ,with intention to cause no harm.
      She notices the light in life, where others may see dark.
      She listens to all others,a reseptive ear she allways gives.
      She holds her self to integrity ,with wich she strives to live.
      She has suffered injustice,yet turned experience into strength.
      She is a gentle whisper or deafening truth without length.
      She shares sweet compassion, as she gives her heart to love.
      She a dearest gift of our Goddess ,as below so now above.
      She is beautiful and spectacular,sensual and dear her youth.
      She has the best intentions each day, of all the Goddess truth.
      She is dark as the turbulent sea,or as light as a ray of sun.
      She is as she needs to be,as life calls her she does not run.
      I see patience in her ways,contemplation in her quiet.
      I see fire in her eyes and the passion driven pilot.
      She is an amazing Goddess,in every breath she takes.
      She is the ultimate maiden beauty,fertility and grace.
      I see her inner balance,she searches for each day.
      I respect her in all things,her loving sister ways.
      Blessed are her friends,she is a sister sweet for whom I Pray.
      She be a constant in my life ,forever ,allways and today.

      Luna

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    Re The Meaning of Femme - I like femme!!!!!!

    Wed, March 1, 2006 - 9:37 AM
    I like women who are femme. And i think im like that too,i like to dress girly and feminine in every situations and i like to treat myself in the same way as well. i dont like to have masculine features. I think women should love each other as women, with out adding manly features to themselves,for females are so beautiful - why should they make themselves different than they are ment to be: pretty and feminine? This is what i like them for :-) for their fragile and smooth and delicate look....

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