Posts Tagged: femme
Slurs Ain’t Cute
The first time I had ever heard the phrase “bitch” I was no older than seven years old. It was a rainy day in Michigan and my mom refused to let a white man over into our lane while driving. This infuriated him, and caused him to roll down his window. Along with a racial slur, the man leaned out of his car and the veins in his neck popped as he called my beautiful and beloved mother, a bitch. Tears formed in her eyes as she rolled up her window quickly, looked at me sternly, and said “Kristina. You are to NEVER repeat those words that you just heard.” The first time I was ever actually called a bitch was in 7th grade math class. After declining to date a… Read more »
Bodily Autonomy and Red Lipstick: On Being Femme, and Reclaiming our Bodies
I own 13 shades of lipstick. I also have, according to my latest tally, 20 dresses, 16 skirts, 5 pairs of heels, and 18 pairs of earrings (and counting). I hardly ever wear sweats to class (minus finals week), I follow a number of fashion and beauty blogs, I rock a pretty rad wingtip on occasion, and I own maybe too much of various shades of pink. A fairly high feminine aesthetic, all around. I’m also super queer. Oh, and super feminist. And a dedicated reproductive justice advocate. And that’s highly tied to—not in spite of—my femme identity. Femme, if you’re not sure, is a queer gender performance that embraces much of what has been called “traditionally feminine”. Mascara, high heels, floral prints, and on, and on. Often femme women… Read more »
