Lipstick lesbian

From Wikinfo

A lipstick lesbian is a slang term for a feminine homosexual woman who is attracted to another feminine woman, rather than a lesbian who is attracted to a more masculine woman, such as in a "butch and femme"-type relationship. The term is thought to have emerged in the early 1990s.

In American films, lesbians are often portrayed according to the lipstick lesbian stereotype, to be both politically safer and more sexually attractive to male viewers. A good example is Showtime's television series The L Word, which presents most of its major lesbian characters in this way.

The term has also been reinterpreted as a derogatory reference to feigned lesbianism - as easy as lipstick to add or remove. (It is derogatory because most people who experience same-sex attraction would be offended at the notion that it is "chosen".)

See also

• Chapstick lesbian
• Macho femme

External links

• FEM Magazine's discussion of lipstick lesbians in films
• The Lipstick Lesbian Page

References

• Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "Lipstick_lesbian" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipstick_lesbian, used under the GNU Free Documentation License