O Alison Bechdel, published by Firebrand Books, Ann Arbor, M/. Reprinted with permission.
CANADIAN WOMAN STUDIESILES CAHIERS DE LA FEMME Does A Lesbian Need a Vagina Like a Fish Needs a Bicycle? Or, Wou d the "Rea Lesbian P ease Stand Up!
AMBER DEAN
La question de lhpparence de La also points out how trans-identified thor of the On Our Backs personal lesbienne a dpjh btb chaudement people have the subversive potential ad, but what about to others?What contestbe et par moment a btb utilisbe to put identity categories into a tail- about Stuart, the "butch lesbian in pour qualiJer la (( vraie n lesbienne. spin, but (still, and perhaps stub- a straight man's bodyn-would he L 'auteureassure que la visibilitbd'une bornly) identifying as a dyke myself, qualify as a lesbian in anyone? eyes lesbienne est en relation directe avec ce I am more intrigued by the questions but his own? And who gets to de-
qui deynit une (( vraie )) lesbienne et the strip raises about who "qualifies" cide whether one "qualifies" as a qui Aide de deynir qui l'est et qui ne as a lesbian these days and for what lesbian or not, anyway? In this pa- l'est pas. reasons (hence it is these questions, per, I attempt t; think throJgh rather than the equally important some of these questions. About five years ago I stumbled upon and challenging questions about the a comic strip from Alison Bechdel's subversive potential of trans-identi- To Be Visible brilliant Dykes to Watch Out For ties, that became the focus of this series that (like so many of her com- paper). When I first started to explore ics) made me laugh out loud and Around the same time, I came my lesbianism in the mid-1990s, I then shake my head in wonderment across a personal ad in the notori- had long spiraling hair and liked to at her ability to so compellingly bring ously gender-bending lesbian sex wear full-length skirts or flowing forward the very debates I'd found magazine, On Our Backs, in which dress pants with V-neck blouses or myselfhavingwith friends only weeks the writer insisted that only "real sweaters and, often, long dangly or days or maybe even hours before. lesbians" need reply: according to earrings. I applied perfume, make- This particular strip, "I.D. fixi?" the author of this ad, a "real" les- up, and hair products daily as part (Bechdel 58-59), starts out as a de- bian is apparently a "professional of my beauty regimen. As I tried to bate about who "qualifies" as a dyke, woman who's childless, financially break into the lesbian scene, I some- and by the end of the strip leaves the secure, spiritual, intelligent, and times wondered if my appearance reader pondering the ongoing rel- likes working out and reading" and was a barrier. Did my looks some- evance of identity categories period is definitely not a "Bi." Hmm, I how disqualify me as a lesbian? in the present "post-"(insert favour- wondered, am I missing something Similarly, a subject in Julie Melia's ite now-under-fire-brand-of-theoriz- here? When I came out, did some- essay on the lesbian "continuum of
ing-or-category-of-identity here) body. forget- to send me some im- resistance" describes a long-haired world. I was particularly struck by portant guidelines that spell out friend of hers who worried she main character Sparrow's insistence exactly what qualifies one as a "real" "wasn't a real dyke because of her that sleeping with a man need not lesbian? Or, if I am a real lesbian, hair" (551). This connection be- entail renouncement of her "dyke" would I just know the guidelines tween looking like a lesbian and status (she self-identifies as a "bi- without needing to be told? Does being a lesbian-between appear- dyke" in the strip), while her boy- Bechdel's Sparrow-complete with ance and identity-seems to be a friend Stuart asserts that he consid- long hair, make-up, flowing dresses, common theme. A subject from ers himself to be "a butch lesbian in and boyfriend-qualify as a "real" Anthony Freitas, Susan Kaiser and a straight man's body." The comic lesbian? Not according to the au- Tania Hammidi's study on visibil-
VOLUME 24, NUMBERS 2,3 93 ity issues in queer communities tells had a running joke about who women. My appearance is also a way us that "if you feel you are a part of looked "dykey-er." Not long after for me to communicate to the rest the greater lesbian community, it is that relationship ended, I decided of the world that I am different and important to look like you identify it was time to (once again) go back proud ofmy difference. When I first with that community" (99). In their to short hair in an effort to look came out I was eager to signal my short film WhatDoesaLesbian Look more "like a lesbian." Of course, resistance to heteron~rmativit~and Like? Winnipeg performance art- my idea of what a lesbian "looks my willingness to take on whatever ists Shawna Dempsey and Lorri like" is largely shaped by my own challenges I might have to face as a Millan poke fun at the controversy race and class backgrounds: being result of my difference, even if this and uneasiness surrounding what white, from a middle-class back- meant harassment or personal at- it means to "look like a lesbian": "Is ground, and coming to my lesbi- tacks. anism largely through my engage- Although some postmodernist ment with feminism in an academic theorizing has encouraged a shift environment, I can't help but sus- from thinking in terms of visible1 A week afEer my pect that my notion of lesbian ap- invisible bodies to terms of marked1 first sexual pearance is shaped by the lingering unmarked ones, Lisa M. Walker influence of 1970s lesbian femi- chooses to continue to use the experience with nism. My ability to conform to this former, despite the "lack of clarity" a woman, f bought narrow notion of what a lesbian she perceives in these terms (868, my first pair of "looks like," then, is unquestion- fn). As she points out, the term "un- ably influenced by my race and class marked" is used to describe the cargo pants and privilege. normative body in theory, but "in- played seriously The subjects in Melia's study visible" refers to those bodies that point out that there is a tendency are not normative, and so the two with the idea of to dramatically alter one's appear- sets of terms fail to "map directly cutting my hair ance shortly after starting to self- onto each other" (868). She argues short: and identify as a lesbian (550, 554). that a focus on visibility among Thus I remain convinced that ap- several so-called minority groups maybe gening pearance is still intimately con- has become a "tactic of late twenti- a nose ring. nected to my own and many other eth-century identity politics" lesbians' sense of our identities as (868). Melia points to how queer lesbians. For me, looking like what activists have privileged appearance I think a lesbian is supposed to look and style as "a key part of resist- she butchy, ball-busting, bad-assed like or occasionally adorning my- ance" (548), and the prevalence of with facial hair?" they ask. "Or does selfwith lesbian signifiers (my cur- the popular slogan visibility = life she strut her stuff, show some thigh, rent favourite is a button that reads on the t-shirts of some gay and les- and leave a trail of kisses with her "I got this way from kissing girls") bian activists has also been noted lipstick?" The question of what a holds several different meanings. I (Freitas et al. 84). Clearly, visibil- lesbian looks like has been hotly believe it is a way for me to be rec- ity-looking "like a lesbiann-has contested, and has at times been ognized by other dykes, which I historically been and remains an used as a standard for judging who secretly hope ensures my place important aspect of many lesbians' qualifies as a "real" lesbian and who among lesbians and communicates identities, and hence gets- tied to does not. How much does being my sexual availability to other debates about who qualifies as a visibly identifiable as a lesbian re- women (which relates to why "look- "real" lesbian. late to the question ofwho "quali- ing like a lesbian" seems more im- So what does a lesbian look like? fies" as a lesbian? portant at times when I'm not al- Although many have suggested that A week after my first sexual ex- ready in a relationship). As Freitas at various points in history there is perience with a woman, I bought et al. indicate, "visibility is often an identifiable (normative) lesbian my first pair of cargo pants and coded for 'perceivers who matter"' appearance, or very specific stand- played seriously with the idea of (97). Visibility, then, is perhaps ards of dress and style, what a les- cutting my hair short and maybe related as much to desire as it is to bian actually looks-like depends a getting a nose ring. My last lesbian identity: being visible as a lesbian great deal (of course) on the his- lover, who was in a relationship with allows me to communicate my de- torical period, on her personal pref- a man prior to me, cut her long sire to others, just as being able to erences, andlor on her desire to hair drastically shortwithin the first visibly identify other women as les- conform to these standards (Melia; two weeks of our relationship. We bian facilitates my desire for those Freitas et al.; Myers, Taub, Morris
94 CANADIAN WOMAN STUDIESILES CAHIERS DE LA FEMME and Rothblum). It also depends a parently rigid definition for mem- previously known as butch lot on her race or ethnicity, class, bership" (144). Law insists we must (Faderman). The pressure to con- ability, and age. As soon as a cat- critique this construct because, form to this regulation of appear- egorical "lesbian uniform" is pos- whether it is expressed "through ance was enormous for those who ited it becomes important to think clothes, politics, or space, there is still wanted to count as "real" lesbi- about who is being- excluded an implicit understanding that all ans and wanted a place in the les- through this categorization of les- lesbians are alike in fundamental bian feminist community. The bian appearance. There are numer- ways" (144). This assumption has 1970s "lesbian uniform" most ous testimonies, for example, ofthe frequently resulted in the exclusion ~revalentl~accepted and adhered unhappiness suffered by women of femmes, trans-identified people, to was created to signal this desire who identified as femmes but aban- lesbians of colour, working class, for androgyny: "Flannel shirts, blue doned this style (and, for a time, a disabled, and older lesbians from jeans, work boots, no jewelry or femme identity) in order to con- the category of "lesbian," which has makeup, and short hair became de tinue to "qualify" as a lesbian dur- seriously undermined the revolu- rigeur" (Myers et al. 2 1). Indeed, as ing the heyday of the lesbian-femi- tionary potential oflesbian politics. recently as 1997, some women in- nist 1970s (see Millersdaughter; For most lesbians in the 1950s, terviewed by Anna Myers, Jennifer Faderman). appearance was central to both Taub, Jessica Morris and Esther Similarly, many lesbians write identity and community. As de- Rothblum indicated that their ex- about how being of colour or being scribed so poignantly by Leslie tremely butch or extremely femme from a working class background Feinberg in hir autobiographical appearances still drew hostility has resulted in their exclusion from novel Stone Butch Blues, in the from other lesbians. Clearly, such a gay and lesbian communities that 1950s there were butches and "uniform" posed significant visibil- privilege whiteness and middle or femmes, and femmes partnered ity barriers for any lesbian wanting upper-class visibility (Allison; with butches, period.-~einberg to represent other aspects of her Feinberg; Khan; Law). These ex- writes about primarily working- identity. clusions have caused some lesbians class lesbians, and in hir novel any In the 1980s and 1990s butch- to struggle with their allegiance to lesbian who strayed outside of the femme made a comeback. It was lesbian communities, wondering butch-femme formation in the once again becoming acceptable whether they would have to forgo 1950s and early 1960s was ostra- among most lesbians to claim a their racial or class allegiances in cized and failed to qualify as a "real" butch or femme identity, and to order to be "visible" as lesbians. lesbian. At this time butch-femme construct one's appearance accord- Surina Khan articulates this strug- was a way of life for many lesbians, ingly. Lesbians who had suppressed gle when she writes: "when I came but a butch or a femme was defined their femme-ness and conformed out I identified only as a lesbian. It as much by appearance as by to the androgynous dress code of didn't occur to me to identify as a behavior, sexual preference, or pre- the 1970s now re-embraced their Pakistani lesbian" (130). Only af- ferred roles in sex acts (Myers etal.). ter many years of struggling with With the rise of second wave her various identities and the in- feminism in the late 1960s and tersecting impacts of racism and throughout the 1970s, butch and homophobia-often experienced femme came under fire. A new When I First within her queer and Pakistani com- breed of feminist lesbians, mostly came out I was munities-was Khan able to come middle-class, mostly academic, and out as and embrace a Pakistani les- mostly white, decried the "old eager to signal bian identity. And relatedly, because ways" of butch-femme ( Faderman). my resistance to predominant notions ofwhat ales- They believed the butch-femme heteronournativity bian "looks like" tend to privilege configurations of most lesbian re- youthfulness, many older lesbians lationships up to that time were and my ~illingness may struggle with perceived de- merely an attempt to mirror het- ~ - t0 take on whatever mands to maintain an appearance- erosexual relationships, right down identity connection. to "appearing" like a "man" or a challenges f might The dominant construction of "woman." Claiming that she hawe to face as what a lesbian "looks like" was de- wanted to breakwith the trappings a result of veloped, according to Deke Law, of patriarchy entirely, the new les- "by white women in response to bian feminist did her best to achieve my difference. sexism in the U.S. Left and in the an appearance that was completely gay men's movement, with an ap- androgynous, similar to the style
VOLUME 24, NUMBERS 2,3 95 "femmes within" and reclaimed lenged rigid "lesbian uniforms," making some gestures towards dressesandmakeup.The termalip- theie still exists some consensus butch style, still has long hair, is stick lesbian" was no longer neces- among the lesbians participating in painfully thin, and frequently wears sarily a pejorative (Clark 488). at least one study about what con- make-up and low-cut, femme-like Similarly, challenges to the central- stitutes "conventional dyke style- outfits, yet in one episode she is
ity of white, middle-class women's jeans, T-shirt, boots" (Melia 550) (unconvincingly)-. mistaken for a experiences in feminist and lesbian with short hair and no makeup. gay man. As Karen X. Tulchinsky communities made by women of While I am hesitant to suggest that notes in her primarily positive re- colour, working-class women, this "conventional dyke style" has view of the show in the feminist women with disabilities, and more anything- to do with who qualifies magazine- Herizons, TheL Word"has recently by older women, helped as a "real" lesbian, I am also struck been criticized.. . for not represent- by the fact that I (one who knows ing 'real lesbians"' (17) since most better) still make an effort to con- of the main characters are thin, form to this stylewhen I really want femme, wealthy women who live Priviteging visibility to "looklike alesbian," even though in fancy homes and drive sporty I know that not all-not nearly cars. Rather than protesting as eerttfaf to a all-lesbians conform to these con- whether a femme woman "quali- lesbhan "rdentity ventions. fies" as a lesbian, though, I believe Debates about what a lesbian critics of The L Word (including C~LIS~San erasure "looks like" in the twenty-first cen- myself) are primarily concerned of thctse lesbians tury have been rekindled by the with the lack of diversity among increasing appearance of lesbians the characters: in other words, it's appears rice in popular culture. The TV drama not the presence of femme lesbians might not ~~)17f01"~tls The L Word, the first ongoing pro- so much as the predominance of to the generally gram to focus almost exclusively on femme style (and a very narrow lesbian life, has kicked off heated representation of femme at that) at standards debates about whether the show's the expense of all other visible of what a lesbian characters look enough like lesbi- signifiers of lesbianism that is at ans. I confess that until recently I issue. refused to watch the program out In Canada, the feminist press has of disdain for the so-called repre- (surprisingly) been kinder to the sentation oflesbianism apparent in show than the queer press: in queer the show's advertisements: a group bi-weekly Xtra! West, columnist to increase awareness about racism, of thin, long-haired,- extremely Ivan E. Coyote points out that some classism, ableism, and ageism well-coifed, predominantly white of the show's advertising is specifi- within these communities (al- women in expensive tailored suites cally directed towards straight men, though there is still much work to and high heels is a far cry from what using the show's graphic lesbian sex do).This made it easier for lesbians I would consider to be a grand to encourage a straight male audi- to dress in ways that also reflect achievement of lesbian visibility ence to tune in to the show "right other aspects ofour identities with- (which tells you something about after the Trailerpark Boys." Coyote, out (perhaps) the same level ofhos- my assumptions). But some dyke a high-profile Vancouver butch les- tility about our claims to lesbian- friends have told me that they re- bian, was hired to teach the pro- ism. The qualifications for a "real" ally like the show and find it does gram's- actors about how to look lesbian shifted from rigid concepts a good job of representing lesbian and act like more "authentic" les- ofwhat a lesbian "looks like" to the life, so I decided to rent the first bians, but was disappointed to note more straighforward qualifier of season to see if my assumptions the significant absence ofcrew-cuts,
one woman's attraction to or desire would be challenged. boots, belts, or butches among- the for another woman. Indeed, In the first couple of episodes of actresses. Not to mention the en- Jacquelyn Zita tells us that "lesbi- The L Word, I was genuinely sur- tire exclusion of working-class les- ans are customarily defined by a prised at the derision directed to- bians, which Coyote argues is a preference for sexual encounters wards the show's only almost-butch gross misrepresentation of the fact generally involving four breasts, character, Shane, who is informed that most lesbians don't have the two vaginas, and two clitorises, that everything about the way she luxury of driving fancy cars since among other things" (1 12). dresses "screams dykemand is there- women still bring home so much But while some have (re)claimed fore embarrassing to some of the less, on average, than men. Still, the butch or femme styles and chal- other characters. Shane, despite debates that the show incites about
96 CANADIAN WOMAN STUDIESILES CAHIERS DE LA FEMME what a lesbian looks like indicate what a lesbian "looks like." Such in a given situation may have little that a connection between appear- an erasure or dismissal causes some to do with whether she herselfde- ance and identity is still highly rel- lesbians to struggle precisely with sires to pass. evant to many lesbians today. this question ofwhether we qualify Historically, the backlash from Elizabeth Wilson (1990) argues- as "real" lesbians or not, puttingour within lesbian communities against that changes in style among lesbi- sense of identity in crisis and some- the lesbian whose style reference ans are partly a reflection of chang- times resulting in our ostracism is more traditionally feminine has ing styles for women as a whole. from lesbian communities. Walker been rooted in femme women's The butch-femme styles of the argues that these problems tend to abilities to more easily pass as het- 1950s, she suggests, may have come be most profound in relationship erosexual. For some lesbians, the about because it was becoming to lesbians who-like Sparrow in fact that a femme (or a bi-dyke, for more and more difficult for lesbi- the comic strip-can pass" for that matter) can pass more readily ans to achieve a look that marked straight: "Because subjects who can as straight is considered a sign that their difference from straight 'pass' exceed the categories of vis- femmes and bi-dykes are less com- women, as mainstream fashion ibility that establish identity, they mitted to lesbianism or less willing styles themselves became more re- tend to be regarded as peripheral to to risk being identified as a lesbian, laxed. Pointing to how changes in the understanding of marginal- possibly out of a fear of the various mainstream fashions for women ization" (868). Shuffling those who ways in which lesbians are op- have made it more difficult to visu- can "pass" to the sidelines of les- pressed. An outright decision to ally separate lesbians from straight bian communities results in a fur- pass as straight in some areas of her women, Wilson laments "it's so ther marginalization of such life may have drastic consequences hard to look deviant these days" women within our already- for a lesbian-as a subject from (73). Indeed, short hair, no marginalized communities and Melia's research explains, "you lose makeup, or clothing that would constitutes a use of oppressive tac- friendship and community" (551). more traditionally be considered tics for the -purposes - of "lesbian" However, a closer theoretical exami- "mannish" can no longer automati- boundary maintenance. nation indicates that femme lesbi- cally be assumed to be signs that Although those in queer commu- ans, bi-dykes, or lesbians who, con- are indicative of a lesbian, as "many nities who hold tightly to the vis- sciously or not, pass as straight in of the signifiers of lesbian identity ibility = life philosophy view pass- some areas of our lives, may. pose. a have become trendy in the avant- ing for straight as perhaps the great- deeper threat to heteronormativity garde heterosexual communityn est threat to gay or lesbian identi- than a first glance allows. After all, (Inness 174). While some lesbians ties, women who pass as straight there is a desire not only among feel proud to see styles that we feel may do so for a variety of reasons. some lesbians but also among many some ownership of adopted by a A lesbian who shapes or adorns her people who identify as straight to more mainstream audience, we are body in a way that does not make be able to visually identify a les- also faced with an identity chal- her easily identifiable as such often lenge. After all, if there is no longer causes others (both lesbian and any sure way to "look like a les- straight) to react with "uneasiness, bian," how will we know who the anger, or even terror" (Inness 161). lesbians are? Yet Melia points out the many dan- Fernrne lesbians, gers some lesbians still face if we bi-dykes, or Visibility Problems choose to always overtly assert our lesbianism, ranging from loss of lesbians who, Despite the importance of ap- employment to harassment or as- eonseiously or not, pearance to an individual and com- sault. She argues that a "continuum pass as straight in munal sense of identity for many of resistance" (556) should be used lesbians, several writers have raised to expand our understanding of some areas of our some serious problems stemming how passing can sometimes be a lives, may pose a from aconnection between appear- subversive strategy for lesbians. ance and identity (Melia; Freitas et Sherrie A. Inness insists that pass- deeper threat to al.; Walker). Walker, for example, ing at some point is inevitable for heteronormativity argues that privileging visibility as all lesbians, and argues that the roll than a first central to a lesbian identity causes of the onlooker is essential in de- an erasure of those lesbians whose termining whether a lesbian will glance allows. appearance might not conform to "pass" in a given situation-in other the generally accepted standards of words, whether alesbian will "pass"
VOLUME 24, NUMBERS 2,3 bian in order to ensure her exclu- feminized fag are the "only two fig- been taking place throughout the sion from the realm of "normal," ures of abjection," or only two fig- last few decades. or, in the Butlerian sense, from the ures excluded from the category of Still, Butler warns us to be aware realm of "bodies that matter." Dis- bodies that come to matter in our of instances when "denaturalizing ruptions of what a lesbian "looks society (103). Rather, she goes on parodies," such as the parodies of like" have the potential to confound to tell us that to take these two fig-- masculinity and femininity encom- those people who would like to ures as the only "figures of passed by butch and femme, reiter- continue to define the lesbian body abjection" causes us to lose sight of ate norms without questioning as deviant. As Sherrie Inness so as- those figures that incorporate "pre- them (231). The subversive poten- tutely points out, cisely the kind of complex cross- tial in both butch and femme, and ings of identification and desire indeed in lesbianism itself, lies in the lesbian who passes as hetero- which might exceed and contest the the challenge these identities pose sexual calls into question the binary frame itself" (103). The to heteronormativity, or an under- distinctionbetween heterosexual femme "bi-dyke" would certainly standing of heterosexuality as natu- and homosexual. Ultimately, she be a figure for such "complex cross- ral, normal, or the only sexual threatens to overthrow thewhole ings." choice available. Butch and femme heterosexual order because het- But if there is no set definition of appearances can denaturalize gen- erosexuality can only exist in what a lesbian "looks like," then der, sex, and sex roles by showing opposition to homosexuality. what sort of body "qualifies" as a how they are constructed rather (161). lesbian body? In the 1970s, the than natural. But if at any point acceptable construction of what a butch lesbians, femme lesbians, or So the lesbian who some would lesbian looked like involved, as I lesbians in general create or "po- argue fails to "qualify" as a lesbian have discussed, appearing as an- lice" norms of our own, without at because she differs in appearance drogynous as possible. Yet such re- least being open to exceptions to or from what is expected of a lesbian strictions on who qualifies as a les- contestation of these norms, But- actually has as much, if not more, bian are comparable to the oppres- ler warns that our radical or sub- potential to disrupt heteronor- sive tactics used to measure who versive potential will be dimin- mativity than the lesbian who looks qualifies as "human" (white hetero- ished. To provide just one of many like what she is: for some, a good sexual men), or as a "body that possible examples, in a particularly argument to suggest that women matters." The more relaxed stand- significant scene from Feinberg's like Bechdel's bi-dyke Sparrow have ards for what a lesbian looks like in Stone Butch Blues, Frankie, a butch, just as much entitlement to the the late 1980s and 1990s are partly announces to the main character, signifier "lesbian" as women who a response to a growing awareness Jess, that she's datinganother butch. have short hair, wear t-shirts, jeans of the fragmentation caused by the Frankie says "you don't have to and boots, swear off make-up, and strict "lesbian policing" (Freitas et understand it, Jess. But you gotta have sex strictly with other women. al. 99), or pressures from within accept it. Ifyoucan't, then just keep lesbian communities to conform to walking," and Jess tells us "that's The Lesbian "Bodies that normative standards for appear- exactly what I did. I couldn't deal Matter" ance. According to Butler, we have with it, so I just walked away" (202). to adopt certain positions or cat- Jess denies that two butches in a Judith Butler's theories on how egories (e.g. "Lesbian") while at the relationship together can qualify as certain bodies come to "matter" can same time contesting or being open lesbians, and she adopts oppressive be helpful in articulating how les- to contestation of the boundaries tactics for ensuring their exclusion bians who sometimes pass as or limits of these categories, in or- from lesbian community, tactics straight can present a significant der to develop a more "complex that actually work to support challenge to hetero-normativity. coalitional frame" (1 15). This hetero-normativity rather than Although Walker has argued the frame would allow women to main- challenge it: as the late Audre Lorde limitations of Butler's earlier writ- tain different aspects of our identi- continues to remind us, "the mas- ings in defining the subversive po- ties (for example, our race and class ter's tools will never dismantle the tential embodied by lesbian femmes backgrounds) without needing to master's house" (1 12). (884), in Bodies that Matter there privilege one at the expense of an- But if there can be no bounda- are several passages that indicate other. Such an understanding of ries to the category "lesbian," no Butler's belief in such a potential. how change occurs certainly en- directives for what a lesbian "looks For example, Butler insists that she compasses the negotiations within like" (or who she necessarily sleeps does not wish to suggest the lesbian communities over who with), is there such a thing as a les- masculinized (or butch) lesbian and qualifies as a "real" lesbian that have bian? Or could anyone be a lesbian?
98 CANADIAN WOMAN STUDIESILES CAHIERS DE L4 FEMME Certainly some postmodernist identified-male" who becomes one instead of being defined by her theorizing might lead us to think of the main character's "lesbian lov- desire to have sex with other so. As Cathy Griggers explains, "les- ers" during the first season of The women, a lesbian was defined bians in the public culture of L- Word.Hence I remain persuaded merely by her "woman-centered- postmodernity are subjects-in-the- of the importance of the figure of ness" or her political commitment making whose body of signs and the male lesbian to lesbian and to other women.2 Given such a bodies as signs are up for reappro- feminist theorizing and politics, definition oflesbianism, I certainly priation and revision" (123). In the and as such I will flesh out his theo- know a few men who could qualify. past few years, the place of trans- retical and political significance in Indeed, Adrienne Rich's notion of identified people within lesbian this section. the lesbian continuum, long hailed communities has been a source of A belief in the constructed-ness as the cornerstone of lesbian theo- much debate. Zita makes note of of gender forms the basis of many rizing, contributed to a de-sexual- the following signs surrounding feminist theories. A belief in the izing of lesbianism in its attempt to what she calls the "precious little constructed-ness of sex follows marry feminist and lesbian thought. lesbian space there is in the world:" close behind, and has been argued Monique Wittig has often been "Women only. Lesbians only. by Butler and adopted by many quoted for her infamous pro- Women-born women only. Genetic feminist and postmodernist theo- nouncement that "lesbians are not female dykes only. No boys over the rists. If sex is a construct, then a women" (qtd. in Wiegman 16), age- of twelve" (122). Yet most les- deconstruction would certainly al- leaving us to beg the question: "Can bian communities have slowly low the possibility of a male les- they be men?" And, in one of the started to accept that trans-identi- bian, since the category "male," only existing theoretical writings on fied people can and should "qualify" and, for that matter, the category male lesbians, Zita suggests that a as lesbians if they desire to identify "lesbian," no longer hold the same male who is willing to relinquish as such. But what about someone meaning. After all, Butler has in- the significance of his penis and also like Bechdel's Stuart, meaning an sisted that it is "unclear to [her] that ask others to do so, or who is will- anatomically male human being lesbians can be said to be 'of' the ing to engage in "sex acts, mutually with a penis, testes, male second- same sex" (65-66). But is the pos- interpreted as 'female' sex acts" ary sex characteristics and no plan sibility of a man wanting to repre- (120), might have grounds to con- to alter any of these, whose gender sent himself as a lesbian not anti- sider himself a lesbian and ask oth- identity is also masculine and who thetical to almost everything that ers to do so as well. would unquestioningly be inter- lesbianism has stood for or tried to However, many (or most?) preted by onlookers to be, without accomplish in the last few decades? women who identify as lesbian hesitation or doubt, a man? In Yet if the category of "lesbian" can might opposed the idea of men Bechdel's comic strip, Stuart makes stretch (as it mostly has and cer- qualifying as "real" lesbians (well, a claim to a lesbian identity. Could tainly must) to include those who for sure the woman who wrote the Stuart qualify as a "real" lesbian? fail to "look like" a lesbian (i.e. personal ad in On Our Backs would, Should he? femme lesbians) or to always "act anyhow). As Zita points out, "[tlhe like" a lesbian (i.e. bi-dykes), or to 'male lesbian' seems to be an The Male Lesbian (2) those who resist narrow and essen- oxymoron. Yet I have met more tialist meanings of the signifier than a few. Other lesbians report Can a man "qualify" as a lesbian? "woman" (i.e. trans-identified peo- similar encounters. Is there a prob- This is perhaps the most difficult ple), what recourse (if any) do we lem here?" (107). How much identity question that a feminist- have to argue that a man cannot weight does the opinion of other postmodernist-lesbian has to pon- "qualify" as a lesbian? lesbians carry in the ability ofa man der. For some lesbians, of course, Opening the definition of "les- to self-identify as lesbian? Well, the question is also an absurd one, bian" to include women whose Sherrie Inness argues that the roll and may understandably seem appearances stray from the an- of the onlooker is essential in de- highly irrelevant in the context of drogynous "lesbian uniform" dis- termining whether a lesbian will trying to survive, support a family, cussed before seems to be a far cry "pass" in a given situation. Simi- and deal with the day to day pres- from opening the definition to in- larly, in critiquing Judith Butler's sures of being an out lesbian in a clude men. But at the same time work, Susan Bordo argues that homophobic culture.' But the male there is certainly precedence, even "subversion ofcultural assumptions lesbian keeps popping up on our within lesbian communities, for is not something that happens in a radar: five years ago there was such an opening to occur. In the text or to a text. It is an event that Bechdel's Stuart, and today we're 1970s some lesbians tried to de- takes place (or doesn't) in the 'read- confronted with "Lisa," a "lesbian- sexualize lesbianism, arguing that ing' of the text" (8). What is the
VOLUME 24, NUMBERS 2,3 99 likelihood that observers of the text if such readings occur against his that perhaps now "identity is so of man-as-lesbian will read "Les- will. much more complex and fluid than bian"? How would a man signify These readings point to the sig- these rigid little categories of his lesbianism to an audience for nificant political consequences of straight, gay, and bi can possibly which such a reading would basi- the notion of the male lesbian: ifhe reflect" (58-59). After providing a cally be implausible? Even if he is so unlikely to be consistently framework for understanding how adorned himself in lavender identified as a lesbian, is he really some postmodernist theorizing has labryses and double-woman sym- making any sort of political state- made it possible for aman to qualify bols from head to toe, these ment through his act of claiming a as a lesbian, Zita concludes by pro- signifiers don't tend to "signify" lesbian identity? Is he really more viding us with tools for a contin- much for the general population politically allied with lesbians, ued exclusion of men from this anyway, and even when they do, when his male privilege remains category. While she agrees that for a reader who recognizes these intact? Yet we must consider that readings that confer a sex to a given signifiers but notes that they are this is a slippery slope: femme les- body, regardless of the wishes ofthe attached to a male body, "Oh, he's bians, bi-dykes, lesbians of colour, subject, may be "utterly constructed a lesbian!" is not likely the first working class lesbians, disabled les- and arbitrary," she nevertheless re- thought to come to mind. bians, older lesbians, or trans-iden- minds us that they are also "encum- Still, some men wanting to tified people may also be read most bering" (125). qualify as lesbians might find ac- often as something other than "les- Perhaps for the present, it might ceptance in a community of bian" or, sometimes, as other than be more politically expedient for a postmodernist-dykes willing to in- "woman," yet to disqualify these man wishing to identify as a les- terpret the representation or "text" individuals as lesbians, as outlined bian to instead focus his energy on he is creating in the manner that he above, is not only highly problem- deconstructing masculinity and the wants them to (think of Ginger's atic but is a practice that has been many restrictions that construct half-hearted acknowledgement of rejected by asignificant proportion places on his behaviour and iden- Stuart's lesbian potential when she of lesbian communities today. tity. Such a critique of masculinity grumbles that he could be "Soft Hence there seem to be potentially might even undercut the need some butch. May-be" in the Bechdel significant political consequences men might feel to identify as les- comic, or of the main characters' of both including and excluding bian, since the desire to claim a apparently unquestioning accept- men from the category "lesbian:" lesbian identity might stem in large ance of "Lisa" in The L Word). the consequences of excluding them part from a rejection of hegemonic Would such a man then qualify as risks reproducing the kind of les- constructions of masculinity a lesbian? Zita argues that even if bian policing that has also at times ("Lisa" makes this point in the The such acceptance is found, the man (and ongoingly) excluded large L Wordwhen he insists that straight who wishes to identify as lesbian is numbers ofwomen on the basis of white men represent "everything unable to control the readings of other forms of difference. Yet the that's wrong in the world"). How- his (male) body undertaken by the consequences of including men in ever, it is equally important that we outside world. "When these read- the category of "lesbian" in the remain open to contestation of the ings numerically outnumber the present might result in an under- boundaries of the category "les- less frequent 'lesbian' attributions mining of lesbian political organ- bian," perhaps always with the vi- in the charmed circle," she argues, izing, since, as discussed, men are sion of a time when it will be com- "this external world definitively seldom likely to be readas "lesbian" monly or popularly accepted that 'sexes' his bodyn (125). "Lisa," the outside of a potentially small, wel- there are more than two genders, lesbian-identified-male from The L coming circle at the present mo- more than two sexes, more than two Word, passes as lesbian only with ment in time. sexualities-in short, what Zita the support of the show's lesbian So, can a man qualify as a les- describes as "a number of different community: outside of that com- bian-or should he? This is, at ways to inhabit the body" (123). munity he is clearly not read as les- present, perhaps a question better But until we have gone further in bian, as his confused encounter left unanswered, although certainly popularizing the notion that gen- with a straight male in episode ten an important one to ask. For a re- der, sex, and sexuality are con- makes clear. Zita points out that lated question we would have to structed, it might be more politi- the outside world's reading of the ~onderwould of course be whether cally astute for a man who wants to subject's body as "male" also deter- the very category of "lesbian" is still qualify as a lesbian to identify him- mines his access to certain types of relevant, important, essential, or self instead as what Zita has coined privilege inaccessible to a subject meaningful. Consider the assertion a "lesbian-identified-non-lesbian- read as "woman" or "lesbian," even of Sparrow, in Bechdel's comic strip, hating-male" (123).
100 CANADIAN WOMAN STUDIES/LES CAHIERS DE LA FEMME While it may be necessary in the Popular Culture. Eds. Corey K. Millersdaughter, Katherine. "A current political context to con- Creekrnur and Alexander Doty. Coincidence of Lipstick and Self- tinue to raise questions and debate Durham: Duke University Press, Revelation ." Femme: Feminists, about men who wish to represent 1995.486-500. Lesbians and Bad Girh. Eds. Laura lesbianism, it is absolutely essen- Coyote, Ivan E. "The B-Word: Parts Harris andElizabeth Crocker. New tial that we maintain a vision for a 1 and 2." Xtra! West, Feb. 17 and York: Routledge, 1997. 119-130. future in which such policing of the Mar. 17, 2005. Online: http:ll Myers, Anna, Jennifer Taub, Jessica boundaries of lesbianism will be- www.xtra.ca. Date accessed: 051 Morris and Esther Rothblum. come unnecessary or perhaps irrel- 04/05. "Beauty Mandates and the evant. As Butler suggests, "it may Faderman, Lillian. "The Return of Appearance Obsession: Are be only by risking the incoherence Butch & Femme: A Phenomenon Lesbianshy Better Off?" Looking of identity that connection is pos- in Lesbian Sexuality of the 1980s Queer: Body Image and Identity in sible" (1 13, emphasis in original). and 1990s." Gender in the 1990s. Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay, and Because we live in an imperfect 2ndEdition. Eds. E. D. Nelson and Transgender Communities. Ed. world, it is at times politically nec- B. W. Robinson. Toronto, Nelson Dawn Atkins. New York: Haworth essary to create and maintain a Canada, 1995.40-57. Press, 1998. 17-26. working definition of "lesbian," Freitas, Anthony, Susan Kaiser and Rich, Adrienne. "Compulsory while always remaining open to Tania Hammidi. "Communities, Heterosexuality and Lesbian contestation ofwho "qualifies" as a Commodities, Cultural Space, and Existence." Signs:JournalofWomen lesbian. But perhaps in the "post- Style." Journal of Homosexuality in Cultureandsociety, 5, (Summer postmodern" period, the male les- 31 (112) (1996): 83-107. 1980): 631-60. bian will have his day. Feinberg, Leslie. Stone Butch Blues: A Tulchinsky, Karen X. "Drama Novel. New York: Firebrand Books, Queers." Herizons: Women ?News Amber Dean is a PhD. student in the 1993. andFeminist Views (Spring 2005): Department ofEnglish andFilm Stud- Griggers, Cathy. "Lesbian Bodies in 16-18 & 45. ies at the University ofAlberta. the Age of (Post)Mechanical Walker, Lisa M. "How to Recognize Reproduction." The Lesbian a Lesbian: The Cultural Politics of 'Thanks to an anonymous reviewer Postmodern. Ed. Laura Doan. New Looking Like What You Are." Signs for reminding me of this fact. York: Columbia University Press, l8 (4) (1993): 866-890). 'Thanks to an anonymous reviewer 1994. 118-133. What Does A Lesbian Look Like? Dir. who pointed out that there was also Inness, Sherrie A. The Lesbian Shawna Dempsey and Lorri an effort among some lesbian femi- Menace: Ideology, Identity, and the Millan. Finger in the Dyke nists in the 1970s to define a "real Representation of Lesbian Life. ProductionsIMuch Music, 1994. lesbian" as a woman who had never Amherst: University of Massa- Wiegman, Robyn. "Introduction: had sex with a man. Clearly, these chusetts Press, 1997. Mapping the Lesbian Post- debates from the 1970s are still rever- Khan, Surina. "Color Me White." modern." TheLesbian Postmodern. berating in our communities today. This Is What Lesbian Looks Like. Ed. Laura Doan. New York: Ed. Kris Kleindienst. New York: Columbia University Press, 1994. Firebrand Books, 1999. 127-135. 1-22. Reference The L Word. Dir. Rose Troche. Los Wilson, Elizabeth. "Deviant Dress." Angeles, CA: Showtime Networks Feminist Review 35 (Summer Allison, Dorothy. Two Or Three Inc., 2004. 1990): 66-73. Things IKnowfor Sure. New York: Law, Deke. (1999). "Evolution." This Zita, Jacquelyn N. "Male Lesbians Dutton, 1995. Is What Lesbian Looks Like. Ed. and the Postmodernist Body." Bechdel, Alison. "I.D. Fixe?" Post- Kris Kleindienst. New York: Hypatia 7 (4) (1992): 106-127. Dykes To Watch Out For. New Firebrand Books, 1999. 137-145. York: Firebrand, 2000. 58-59. Lorde, Audre. "The Master's Tools Bordo, Susan. "Postmodern Subjects, Will Never Dismantle the Master's Postmodern Bodies." Feminist House." Sister Outsider: Essaysand Studies, 18 (1) (1992): 159-176. Speeches. Freedom, CA: The Butler, Judith. Bodies that Matter: Crossing Press, 1996. 1 10-113. On the Discursive Limits of "Sex." Melia, Julie. "An Honest Human New York: Routledge, 1993. Body: Sexuality and the Con- Clark, Danae. "Commodity Les- tinuum of Resistance." Women i bianism." Out In Culture: Gay, Studies InternationalForum 18 (51 Lesbidn, and Queer Essays on 6) (1995): 547-557.
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