Lipstick lesbian
Lipstick lesbian is a phrase with two similar but different meanings depending on location.
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[edit] United States
The expression is slang, used in the United States of America to describe lesbian and bisexual women who exhibit extremely feminine gender attributes, such as wearing make-up (thus, lipstick), wearing dresses or skirts and having other characteristics associated with feminine women. Most female same-sex sex scenes in mainstream pornography are portrayed in this way.
The term was used in San Francisco at least as far back as the 1980s. In 1982, Priscilla Rhoades, a journalist with the gay newspaper The Sentinel, wrote a feature story on "Lesbians for Lipstick". In 1990, the gay newspaper OutWeek covered the Lesbian Ladies Society, a Washington, D.C.-based social group of "feminine lesbians" that required women to wear a dress or skirt to its functions.[1] The term is thought to have emerged in wide usage during the early 1990s. A 1997 episode of the television show Ellen widely publicized the phrase. In the show, Ellen DeGeneres's character, asked by her parents whether a certain woman is a "dipstick lesbian", explains that the term is "lipstick lesbian", and comments that "I would be a chapstick lesbian."
In 1999, columnist Mark Steyn called actress Anne Heche, who was dating DeGeneres at the time, "the world's most famous lipstick lesbian."[2]
An alternate term for "lipstick lesbian" is "doily dyke".[3][4]
Stevie Kitts-Beck, an artist originally from San Francisco California, has created a lipstick pride flag. She used her wife's lip print for the center and the colors pink, lavender, and turquoise, rather than the traditional colors of the gay pride flag.[citation needed]
[edit] United Kingdom
In the UK, the term is used to imply either a curiosity, or a willingness to entertain for attention, or shock, in public.[5] The implication is that the most intimate sexual behaviour involved is the swapping of lipstick during kissing. Girls and women in clubs will kiss other females, often for the first time or egged-on by their companions. The females involved will generally be heterosexual and will not often engage in behaviour beyond mild physical flirting. A related term is Lesbian Until Graduation (LUG).
The term was exemplified in the UK by footage of the 2003 MTV Awards publicity stunt by US pop singers Britney Spears, Madonna and Christina Aguilera.[6]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Lynch, Patsy (4 April 1990). "Lesbian Ladies (or where did all the femmes go?)". OutWeek: p. 44. http://outweek.net/pdfs/ow_40.pdf.
- ^ Steyn, Mark (1999). "Hash and rehash". The Spectator. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3724/is_199904/ai_n8843193.
- ^ Keshia Kola (2007-11-16). "The Shesaurus: America's First Women's Dictionary-Thesaurus". http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewshortstory.asp?id=30931&AuthorID=58475. Retrieved 2007-11-18.
- ^ "Issue 71" (PDF). G3 Magazine. April 2007. p. 10. http://g3mag.co.uk/issues/g3april2007.pdf. Retrieved 2007-11-19.
- ^ "Lipstick lesbians: How this kiss sparked a teenage trend that will disturb every parent". The Daily Mail.
- ^ Image of Britney Spears kissing Madonna during the 2003 MTV Awards show opener on the VH-1 website
- Butler, Judith (1999-09-01). Gender Trouble: feminism and the subversion of identity. (Paperback ed.). New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-92499-5.
[edit] External links
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