For LGBT, February has been a startlingly significant month. First of all, it’s LGBT History Month and second of all, Britain is now on course to adopt gay marriage. This has led me to think about the way in which a lesbian’s appearance is understood and perceived within the media and within everyday life.
Parkinson Building lit purple in commemoration of LGBT History Month
‘Girly’ and ‘attractive’ are perceived to be synonymous by many. Very often people will deem a gay girl unattractive because she does not adhere to the social convention of long hair, dresses and make-up. One question that irks me in particular is when people ask ‘If you like girls, then why are you going out with a girl that looks like a boy?’ This simply reduces a relationship to mere physicality (clearly, a person’s dress sense is the most important factor…) Gender is not binary, we should not have to select a stereotype and stick with it. On the contrary, we shouldn’t have to adopt a stereotype at all.
Labelled as a ‘butch lesbian’
Another thing, lesbian couples are often asked: ‘which one of you is the boy in the relationship?’ Of course the girl with a more masculine dress sense and disposition will be labelled the boy. However, debating such is really very unnecessary. There doesn’t have to be a boy and a girl and no-one has to ‘wear the trousers’. We’re living in an era where relationships are becoming less and less heteronormative and the nuclear family is becoming less and less of an institution. Therefore, people shouldn’t have to adhere to old-fashioned norms and after all, there’s nothing wrong with there being no boy at all in the relationship (or two for that matter).
A friend once asked me: ‘why do all lesbians love Pink?’ and you may come to the conclusion that it is because hey, she looks a lesbian, right? Although some may believe this is true, I think the answer goes much deeper than that. Celebrities like Pink offer an alternative image for youth to admire. Her image promotes a kind of diversity and individuality, telling adolescents all over the country that you don’t have to be a size six or have glowingly bronzed skin or wear provocative clothing to be a famous and successful singer. Ironically named Pink, a colour which is a symbol of stereotypical femininity, Alecia Moore acts as a role model not only for lesbians, but for anyone who feels like they don’t quite fit into what it means to be attractive through the lens of the media.There are many lesbian stereotypes, some of which include ‘butch’ and ‘femme’. Some may argue that these forms of stereotypes do not exist amongst heterosexuality, but stereotypes are everywhere. Our youth is heavily saturated with terms such as ‘emo’, ‘indie’ and ‘lad’. It’s no wonder the word ‘individual’ is thrown around a lot these days.
Image sources:
http://data.whicdn.com/images/23489502/tumblr_lybnpylKc11ro4du9o1_500_large.jpg
http://mtvema.mtvnimages.com/2012/images/artists/Pink_2012.jpg?width=400&quality=0.91