Monday 30 July 2012

Butch and femme

Butch and femme are LGBT terms describing, respectively, masculine and feminine traits, behaviors, styles, expressions, self-perception and so on. They are often used in the lesbian, bisexual and gay subcultures. A similar term, en femme, is also frequently used in the crossdressing community.

Butch and femme can sometimes be used to categorize identities of gay or lesbian individuals in terms that are recognized as analogous to (though not derivative from) heterosexual gender roles, with butch representing the traditionally masculine counterpart (the male role in heterosexual couples) and femme the traditionally feminine role (the female role in heterosexual couples). While some gay or lesbian couples may comprise a butch-identified individual and a femme-identified individual, not all gays or lesbians identify as "butch" or "femme." Lesbian relationships do not require these two identities to comprise them, and many lesbian individuals and couples cannot be described accurately in these terms.