#black lesbian history

[the-sappho-of-lesbos]

Source: Curve Vol 22 #5 ( June 2012)

#lesbian history #lesbian positivity #black lesbian positivity #black lesbian history #stud positivity #stud fashion #butch positivity #butch fashion #lgbt #image #lesbian #photo #personal

[androgynealienfemme]

"I am a black self identified femme. My hair hangs in loose curls a little below my shoulders. I often wear makeup, and I like high heels, although I seldom wear them. My femme-ininity does not make me victimized. I have a choice in what I look like and who fucks me. The fear, of course, lies in questioning whether what I say and feel and believe about myself is politically correct or not. I still don't know. In my angst over my femme-ininity, I question my own language. "What constitutes "hard"? Does it refer to those who look most like men, and if so, what does that mean? If the women I like are 'hard' and if 'hard' means looking like a man, then mustn't women inherently be 'soft', at least in my mind?" Where is my thinking? Am i complicity accepting the stereotypes created to limit women's, and men's, roles? This concerns me. So to whom should I be attracted to be a politically correct lesbian-feminist of color? And most importantly, what should I look like to be a politically correct lesbian-feminist of color? I waver constantly. Who should I be, where, how? Why can't I look the way I look and be a feminist, smiling when my lover calls me "her woman"? And what does this all mean to me as a black woman? I want to claim my femme-ininity, recreate "femme", recreate womanhood to make it my own. As a woman of color, I have spent my life wanting to be someone else. I learned to hate myself hearing, "You are too black, too short, too fat." Neither my hair nor my nose was ever straight enough. When I came out, much became clear. I found a true and passionate, powerful at times, inner voice that helped me speak out and write. When I added homophobia to my already substantial list of battles, my life was still filled with the same intense struggles and pain. But there is freedom in knowing the full extend of me, my ethnicity and culture, my sexuality, my womanness. Being femme for me means wearing a short, tight skirt, garters, and three inch heels when I'm going out. It means standing in front of the mirror putting on mascara and reddish brown lips. It means shopping for a low-cut blouse to reveal hints of cleavage some nights. It means smiling, or sometimes pouting, when my woman puts her arms around my waist and, with her other hand, turns my face up to kiss hers. It means whispering, "I'm yours, own me" when she makes love to me. It means feeling sexy. Being femme for me means risking violence and sexism to be who I am. It means being mistaken for a straight woman and saying I'm not. It means fighting for the right for myself and my butch lover to dress the way we please and play the way we like. Yes, our roles can oppress us; they have in the past; they reflect the dominant culture as it now exists. But they do not have to. I take my life, my decisions and actions, into my hands, as they were meant to be. I constantly deconstruct my education, my language, my culture, my desires."

-“femme-insm” by Paula Austin, The Persistent Desire (edited by Joan Nestle) (1992)

#lesbian #lesbianism #femme #butch #butch femme #lesbian history #lgbt #lgbtq+ #lgbt history #the persistent desire #recs #writing #black lesbian #lgbt woc #black lesbian history

[leikeliscomet]

A Brief Look at Stem(me) History

Wanted to know more about Black lesbian identities and I couldn't find a lot on Tumblr or Twitter so I did some research on stem/stemme myself. I'm not involved in queer discourse like that but I've noticed stemme being compared with futch both positively an negatively. The term "futch" is a mash up of butch and femme and the OG Futch Scale was posted 17th February 2011. In 2015, it got posted to Tumblr and became a meme, then an accidental "guide" on lesbian identity. Regardless of stances pro-futch or anti-futch I wanted to find info on stem/stemme as a Black lesbian identity for gender and gender expression. The modern definition of a stem/stemme is a Black lesbian whose gender expression and mannerisms fall between stud and femme. I've managed to find definitions not only supporting this but also definitions predating the futch scale, both pre and post meme version:

"Stem – A person whose gender expression falls somewhere between a stud and a femme.  (See also ‘Femme’ and ‘Stud’.)" Stud is defined as "An African-American and/or Latina masculine lesbian.  Also known as ‘butch’ or ‘aggressive’." (John Jay College of Criminal Justice LGBTQ+ Terminology, Eli R. Green, 2003-2004)

"Stemm A stemm is a gay/lesbian female who dresses like a guy, and dresses like a girl. Person 1: Look at that girl, she looks like a dude with all those guy clothes on, she has to be a stud Person 2: Well she was wearing girly clothes yesterday, so I thought she was a femm Person 3: Actually she's a stemm, she's wears boy clothes sometimes, and girl clothes other times" (Urban Dictionary definition of Stemm by user JenniferHill, November 8th 2009)

"A lesbian, who identifies as a Stemme, retains traits from both Femme and Stud/ Butch lesbians. Stemmes are in the center of the lesbian spectrum of classification and identities. Therefore, it is considered natural or common for Stemme lesbians to share the same behaviors as women of two diverse identity groups. Often times, the Stemme identity is viewed as the “transitional” stage of lesbianism, when a lesbian woman goes from being a Femme to a Stud/ Butch, or (on rear occasions) from a Stud/ Butch to a Femme... *In this blog the characteristic and behavioral difference between a Femme and a Stud is conjoined. The way a Femme or a Stud dresses is not the only way she can be identified. They can also be distinguished by their attitudes, actions and the way they interact with other people. A Stemme is the in-between identity of a Stud and Femme. She is apart of both groups and her identity is subject to change at anytime. A Stemme identity is often referred to as the transitional stage; however, some lesbian women remain a Stemme because they enjoy representing male and female dominance." (Lesbian Identity: Stemme, Nell S., 6th Nov 2009)

"'one who could switch up one day, she could be a femme and other occasions dress like she has a li’l hood, li’l ghetto inside her; a stemme –  part femme part stud a tomboy'" (STORY OF INTEREST: Lesbian Speaks Out, Dominica News Online, April 12th 2010)

"Stemmes presented themselves one day as femme and another day as stud; as such, they were visibly unrecognisable unless they divulged their gender identity. Stemmes expose the amorphous nature of gender identity and are invisible – silenced, ostracised or prescribed a gender identity. Many participants refused to recognise that stemmes existed and instead described them as confused. As Shane (age 22) admitted: ‘Sometimes they [studs and femmes] think that we’re confused. We don’t know what we want to be.’ Stemmes show that personal identity claims were often at odds with community perceptions of identity." (Good gay females and babies' daddies: Black lesbian community norms and the acceptability of pregnancy, Sarah J. Reed, Robin Lin Miller, Maria T. Valenti & Tina M. Timm, 21st April 2011)

"Stem, described as a cross between or combination of stud and femme, is a label that was used to refer to a lesbian that presented both masculine and feminine traits and characteristics. Short Dawg said, 'A stem, for me, is a little mixture of a lot of different things. One day you can be super feminine, and the next day you can be not so feminine.'" (Labelling, Butch, Femme Dyke Or Lipstick, Aren't All Lesbians The Same?: An Exploration Of Labels And "Looks" Among Lesbians In The U.S. South, Danielle Kerr, 2013)

Videos

Who has it harder in the world of lesbians? [studs? stems? or fems?}, iRoqStarStemme, 10th Jan 2011

WTH is a STEM??, AmbersCloset, 1st Feb 2013

The Black Lesbian Handbook: The Stem, Channel 4, 9th Feb 2015

There's a lot more I found and I'll post each article and video separately because they all go into more detail but tl;dr;

Stem(me) is an identity coined by Black lesbian spaces

Stem(me) mainly follows stud/femme dynamics rather than butch/femme (but can reference it)

Stem(me) predates the futch scale meme

Stem(me) is defined by clothing but also behaviours, so it can be a form of Black gender expression or gender itself

#lesbian #black lesbian #black sapphic #black queer women #black lesbian history #stemme lesbian #stemme #black wlw #lesbian history #sapphic history #wlw history #stem lesbian #stud lesbian #masc lesbian #chapstick lesbian #stud fem #stud femme

[simbistardis]

Stemmes presented themselves one day as femme and another day as stud; as such, they were visibly unrecognisable unless they divulged their gender identity. Stemmes expose the amorphous nature of gender identity and are invisible – silenced, ostracised or prescribed a gender identity. Many participants refused to recognise that stemmes existed and instead described them as confused. As Shane (age 22) admitted: ‘Sometimes they [studs and femmes] think that we’re confused. We don’t know what we want to be.’ Stemmes show that personal identity claims were often at odds with community perceptions of identity. Stemmes presented themselves one day as femme and another day as stud; as such, they were visibly unrecognisable unless they divulged their gender identity. Stemmes expose the amorphous nature of gender identity and are invisible – silenced, ostracised or prescribed a gender identity. Many participants refused to recognise that stemmes existed and instead described them as confused. As Shane (age 22) admitted: ‘Sometimes they [studs and femmes] think that we’re confused. We don’t know what we want to be.’ Stemmes show that personal identity claims were often at odds with community perceptions of identity.

Stud-femme dating was the norm in this community, as it was in the community studied by Wilson (2009) in her analysis of Black lesbian sexual culture. Stemmes dated both femmes and studs, but often exhibited a preference for dating one or the other, they altered their behaviour and appearance often based on their relationship. Studs were uneasy at the thought of dating stemmes because they worried stemmes might ‘switch up’, which would upset the rules of who was allowed to date whom.

Good gay females had to be ‘females’, which excluded studs and stemmes who were more masculine in their gender presentation from receiving the same support as appropriate mothers. For femmes, motherhood signified femininity. Due to their own gender beliefs and the gender norms of their community, femmes could most easily integrate motherhood with their gender identity.

Though babies’ daddies tended to be studs, on rare occasions stemmes identified as a baby’s daddy. However, stemmes did not derive as much meaning from the role. Instead, referring to themselves as babies’ daddy was a way to signify to women that they were interested in dating them. As Shae (age 20) explained, stemmes referred to themselves as a baby’s daddy, ‘Because they love, or like, the women whose child it is.’ For stemmes, one adopted the role to relate to the mother rather than to fulfil parenting desires per se. Stemmes joked about being a baby’s daddy, whereas studs took the role seriously, talked about it in terms of responsibility and truly ‘think of they self as daddy’. In either usage – either as a role or a relational device – the word implies a family identity, much like other same-sex couples who use last names to negotiate family identity (Suter, Daas, and Bergen 2008). Stemmes did not actively seek the role of baby’s daddy, whereas there is evidence that studs may.

Good gay females and babies' daddies: Black lesbian community norms and the acceptability of pregnancy, Sarah J. Reed, Robin Lin Miller, Maria T. Valenti & Tina M. Timm, 21st April 2011

#stem lesbian #stemme lesbian #stud lesbian #black lesbian history #black lesbian #lesbian history #stud fem #stud femme #black culture #lesbian #stem #stemme #masc lesbian

[thejawns]

If I ever curved u; I’m sorry. I thought I had a real one, but she just as fake as this PLASDICK I been dropping😮‍💨

#polyamorous #lesbian #lgbt rights #lgbtq #lgbtq community #masc lesbian #black lesbian history #studsoftumblr #studswithdreads #studsofinstagram #stud lesbian

[i-love-sufjan-stevens]

Vintage Photos of Queer Couples of Color

#queer #sapphic #lesbian #wlw #mlm #mlm post #mlm positivity #wlw yearning #wlw love #wlw positivity #queer history #black lesbian #gay man #black queer #black women #indian #desi #asian #lgbt pride #lgbtqia #lgbtq #lgbtq community #gay

[cleopatrachampagne]

shocked bystander at sydney, australia’s annual mardis gras pride parade (1994)

#literally my new favorite picture in history #why have we as a society not memed this yet?? #i’m losing it at the chaos and her expression i just can’t lmfao #pride #gay #lesbian #lgbtq+ #history #photography #90’s nostalgia #australia #black and white photos #90’s aesthetic

[oddwomen]

Jet (February 15, 1979)

#1979 #1970s #70s #black and white #literature #artificial insemination #parenting #interracial #lesbians #vintage lesbians #vintage women #vintage couple #women #vintage #wlw #lesbian #LGBT #LGBTQ #LGBT history #queer history #butch #femme #woc

[crybabyboyscout]

Happy Black History Month, help me continue to thrive this month! Cashapp | Venmo | NovsEyeView

#ocean #black tumblr #black lesbian #lesbian #afropunk #punk #nonbinary #two spirit #2 spirit #indigenous #afro indigenous #black history month #black owned business #small business #black art #black artist #indigenous art #tripp nyc #11:11 #777 #black tourmaline

[the-sappho-of-lesbos]

Source: butch/femme; Inside Lesbian Gender - editor Sally R. Munt , photo editor Cherry Smyth

#lesbian history #lesbian fashion #butch femme #butch #femme #butch lesbian #femme lesbian #black lesbian positivity #lesbian positivity #black lesbian history #lgbt #image #lesbian #personal

[yourdailyqueer]

Lucy Diggs Slowe (deceased)

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Lesbian

DOB: 4 July 1885 

RIP: 21 October 1937

Ethnicity: African American

Occupation: Former prof tennis player, professor, activist

Note of firsts: First Black woman to serve as Dean of Women at any American university. Won the national title of the American Tennis Association's first tournament in 1917, the first African-American woman to win a major sports title. First person from her school to attend Howard University.

#Lucy Diggs Slowe #lgbt history #black history #lgbt #lesbian #female #1885 #rip #historical #black #poc #african american #athlete #tennis #teacher #activist #first #popular #popular post #300

[365daysoflesbians]

Zanele Muholi is one of the most acclaimed photographers working today, and their work has been exhibited all over the world. With over 260 photographs, this exhibition presents the full breadth of their career to date.

Muholi describes themself as a visual activist. From the early 2000s, they have documented and celebrated the lives of South Africa’s Black lesbian, gay, trans, queer and intersex communities.

In the early series Only Half the Picture, Muholi captures moments of love and intimacy as well as intense images alluding to traumatic events – despite the equality promised by South Africa’s 1996 constitution, its LGBTQIA+ community remains a target for violence and prejudice.

#zanele muholi #lesbian art #queer art #south african art #Black lesbian history #Black lgbtq history #Black queer history #Black queer art #Black art

[wlwaxsthetic]

Happy Black History Month. Black queer love should always be celebrated and validated

#wlw #wlw blog #gwlg #gwkg #black love #black lesbian #black queer women #black qwoc #black history month #sapphic relationship #sapphic yearning #wlw axsthetic #lesbian #wlw and nblw only #nblw #wlw aesthetic #queer wlw #queer women #ok to rb #ok to like #ok to comment #ok to interact #gwlg blog #girls who love girls

[madohomurat]

Do you guys remember wayyyy back when emily gwen (creator of the lesbian flag) was harassed and sent hate for having the username 'diabolicdyke' because there was conversation at the time about the term dyke being a black specific slur due to ties to 'bulldyke'? But emily was very patient and understanding and changed their username anyway

Well, regardless how you feel about that discourse, dont you think its interesting how now here we are years later and every white queer on this website calls themselves a dyke? I just think thats interesting! how local homeless lesbian emily is put under intense scrutiny and criticism for making a pretty flag and calling themselves dyke- but local tumblr famous queer bisexual self proclaimed "f*gdyke" doesnt face a single wave of resistance ever

#cy texts #its almost as if it was never about yall giving a shit about black people or black history #and entirely just hatred of a lesbian and wanting to villify her for making a flag without men attached to it

[simbistardis]

Stem, described as a cross between or combination of stud and femme, is a label that was used to refer to a lesbian that presented both masculine and feminine traits and characteristics. Short Dawg said, "A stem, for me, is a little mixture of a lot of different things. One day you can be super feminine, and the next day you can be not so feminine." Sheila describes stem as: The ones that are not femmes, but they're not studs at the same time. They're in between, and they just go with the flow…Clothing-wise, it depends on the day. Some days they'll be girlie, some days they'll have men clothes on…Sometimes the tighter shirt, with maybe some cargo shorts or something like that. Onyx echoes these descriptions by stating, "they [stem] might have on pumps this day, and the next day they might be studded out." Jessica states: They [stem] might…have hair. They might not go straight to cutting their hair, or they might have haircuts, and some stems have short little afros, natural things. They might have on heels one day, and the next day, they have on polos [collar shirts]. In other words, Short Dawg, Sheila, Onyx, and Jessica describe stem as a label that is used to refer to a lesbian that exhibits an appearance that alternates between the traditional feminine and masculine styles of dress. While the previous quotes reference appearance practices used to describe the stem label, other respondents used traits in their description of the stem label. Rozay claimed: You've [stems] got that feminine look, but you've got a manly look at the same time. You might have on girly clothes, but the way you carry yourself might be manly or masculine. Sharing the same sentiments, Bo stated: It's [stem] a look. I think the labels are more look and personality. Because there are some feminine chicks who might put on some baggy jeans but they're still ultra feminine…If it was Aaliyah [heterosexual R&B singer known for wearing tight shirts with baggy pants], you would say that maybe she was a stem, because she is super feminine but she still has on baggy clothes. In other words, Rozay and Bo reference demeanor and personality as important in determining what kind of lesbian would fit the stem label.

There are other instances where labeling an individual poses a problem. The label, stem, in particular, was mentioned as problematic for both description and dating compatibility purposes. Sheila, a woman who has been labeled as stem by other people shared her experience about the challenges she faces as a result of simply dressing in clothing she finds comfortable for each particular day. Sheila does not like labels and does not attach one to herself, however, she knows that other people are looking at her and trying to attach a label to her. Sheila claimed that the task of labeling her becomes difficult for others because of her style of dress. This difficulty results in others labeling her based on how often they see her and what she is wearing during their encounters. Essentially, if they see her dressed in all women's clothes they will label her as femme. If they see her in all men's clothes they will label her as stud, but if they see her on multiple, separate occasions alternating between the two styles they will label her as stem and often attribute that label to her inability to make up her mind. Sheila recalls a recent incident: The girl I'm talking to, she calls me a stem all the time…I showed her a picture of my hair [in a feminine style rather than pulled back in a ponytail] and she was like, 'you look like a cute little stem, because you don't know whether you want to be a guy or a girl right now.' In this example, Sheila expresses her frustration with the label chosen by her peers in the insider group, but also the rules that she feels are being forced upon her to dress or behave in particular ways.

More often than not, respondents referred to a stem's style of dress as being unacceptable and confusing. Jessica and Samantha share some criticism about the stem label. Jessica said, "Stem? That's just for the people who's just there. Appearance and sometimes personality. I think they're schizophrenic." Samantha follows by saying, "They [stems] like stud one day, then femme the next day. See how it's confusing?" In this exchange, Jessica describes a stem as someone who is "just there." This is a derogatory phrase that refers to their inability to make up their mind about how they want to dress. In other words, they will dress in feminine or masculine clothes based on the way they feel that day. This exchange also provides another example of how heteronormative assumptions of gender display are reinforced in the lesbian population. In other words, there are only two options for style of dress and they are either masculine or feminine, not a combination of the two. Jessica and Samantha go on later to discuss how the stem label can interfere with a woman's dating compatibility: Jessica: It interferes with who's interested in you and who you would be interested in because how could a person like me [a stud style of dress]--I like my heel women [femme women] I might see heels and I'm like, 'Oh, she's attractive.' The next day, I see you [the same woman] in polo boots and some baggy Levis and it just threw me off. Samantha: It [stem style of dress] messes me up. Jessica: I'm not as attracted to you as I was when I saw you [a woman in heels from before]. I'm not even attracted to you, let's just state the facts. I'm not attracted to you at all in your polo boots and your shirts or whatever, your Levis, because I saw you the other day and you had on heels, and I was like, 'Oh she's pretty. She's a pretty woman,' but now you look like a pretty woman like me [stud style of dress]. I'm not saying I'm not pretty, but a pretty woman like me [is not what she finds attractive]. In this scenario, not only does Jessica exhibit discontent for stem labeled lesbians due to their lack of a distinct style of dress, she also implies the heteronormative assumption that masculine and feminine styles belong together in a relationship rather than masculine and masculine styles.

(Labelling, Butch, Femme Dyke Or Lipstick, Aren't All Lesbians The Same?: An Exploration Of Labels And "Looks" Among Lesbians In The U.S. South, Danielle Kerr, 2013)

Personal notes: I think its interesting how the hostility towards stems overlaps with anti-stud4stud. There's an assumption its inappropriate for two masculine women to be together so in turn, there's a distain for studstemme because the stem could present masculine or play masculine roles. Anti stud4stud is then explained in the next section. Would like to note Kerr concluded butchfemme/studfemme was being used to sanction heteronormativity, I personally do not. From a modern POV it's clear studphobia or 'stemphobia' towards masculine of centre lesbians is the root of this prejudice, not butchfemme/studfemme itself. This is for educational purposes only and I don't cosign all authors I repost.

#stem lesbian #black lesbian #lesbian history #stud fem #lesbian #stud femme #stem #stemme #stemme lesbian #black lesbian history

[holeymolars]

Laura and Nina, Florence (Del LaGrace, 1993)

(Photo ID: A black and white photo of two shirtless butches in swim trunks standing back to back. They are both muscular and curling their biceps. Neither is directly facing the camera, but both have their heads turned to look at it. One is wearing sunglasses, a bandanna around their wrist and a watch, with white trunks and appears to have a tattoo on their ribcage. You can see their left breast, but their right is covered by their arm. The other is wearing zebra (I think) print trunks and a watch. They both have short, curly hair and light skin. They appear to be on the beach, though you can not really see anything in the background besides what appears to be the sky.)

#butch #butch4butch #vintage lesbians #vintage queers #lgbt history #queer photography #del lagrace #1993 #black and white #from the book butch/femme by sally r. munt #della grace #del lagrace volcano #my posts