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Body Norms in Lesbian Culture PDF
Body Norms in Lesbian Culture PDF
I
N a number of open forums I conducted on the topic of
lesbian beauty, enthusiasm and ambivalence collided to from Silberstein et al. (1989), which examines why people exer-
create a dynamic conversation among the participants. cise along seven dimensions. For the purposes of this study these
Some lesbians talked about the freedom they experi- seven were organized into two categories: exercising for aesthet-
enced after coming out—freedom to abandon traditional ic reasons and exercising for non-aesthetic reasons. /Esthetic rea-
beauty expectations that forced them into high heels, sons included weight control, physical attractiveness, and to
dresses, and big hair, styles that for some felt uncomfortable and improve body tone, while non-aesthetic reasons included
even clown-like. As one woman stated, "Lesbian beauty is a improving overall health, for fitness, for mood control, and for
release. We are not tied to the beauty of dominant culture—the enjoyment. Women rated how important each reason was in
36-24-36 Barbie ideal. There is more of a freedom and ease." determining why they exercise on a 4-point rating scale, with 0
And yet, lesbians also shared their frustration with the unwritten defined as "not at all important" and 3 as "very important."
rules of lesbian beauty whereby certain styles are considered The results showed that the women were significantly more
appropriate for lesbian presentation while others are rejected. In likely to exercise for non-aesthetic reasons than for aesthetic
one participant's words, "With my feminine appearance I get a ones. Less than ten percent were more likely to exercise for
strange dual reaction from other lesbians. Either a repulsion to aesthetic reasons. Their mean scores on the seven dimensions
my femininity, which they associate with weakness, or a hungry were as follows:
and judgmental objectification. Both are uncomfortable."
Why, after escaping oppressive traditional beauty norms, To maintain health (non-aesthetic) 2.32
would lesbians create similarly confining norms within their For fitness (non-aesthetic) 2.14
own communities? To answer this question we must consider To improve mood (non-aesthetic) 2,01
how lesbians are influenced by and respond to beauty construc- To attract others (aesthetic) 1.68
tions of dominant culture and how they simultaneously redefine To tone one's body (aesthetic) 1.67
and create their own meanings of beauty within lesbian commu- For weight control (aesthetic) 1.64
nities. That was the purpose of this research study. For enjoyment (non-aesthetic) 1.21
At a summer gay pride fair in Sacramento, California, 181
women ranging in age from 17 to 58 years, with a mean age of An athletic female in our society is likely to be perceived as a
34, completed an anonymous questionnaire. Eighty-eight per- lesbian at least some of the time. Stereotype would have it that,
cent of the women self-identified as lesbian and twelve percent because all lesbians like to play softball, all softball players are
as bisexual. Education ranged from high school or less to a doc- undoubtedly lesbians. But what do we really know about the
torate degree, with the mean education of an associate's degree amount and types of physical activity that lesbians enjoy? To
or the equivalent. The mean annual income was a range of answer this question, I designed a questionnaire in which women
$20,000-25,000 (but the distribution was bimodal). Most of the indicated on a six-point rating scale the number of hours spent
women were employed (81 percent), and 25 percent were stu-
dents. Almost three-quarters of the sample identified as white,
with the balance comprised of Latina, Asian, African-American,
and Native American women. This racial composition reflects
the demographics of the larger gay, lesbian, and bisexual com-
BOLERIUM BOOK5
munity in Sacramento,
RARE t O U T - O F - P R I N T BOOKS ON
EXERCISE AND THE "BARBIE MANDATE"
In a culture where beauty is an important currency of success for GAY & LESBIAN STUDIES
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becoming more physically attractive. Do lesbians also strive ClItlOGUiS «l$0 itVtIUIli UPON liaUESI
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Cut hair 16 36
BEAUTY NORMS AS FUNCTIONAL
Comfortable dress 10 22
To enable lesbians to recognize one another in public, codes of Gave up traditional beauty rituals (e.g.,
recognition have emerged. As a form of safety, to establish an shaving, make-up, dresses, and high heels) 9 20
identity, and to feel a sense of community, lesbians have estab- Wore something to make self identifiable
lished outward markers. These include such items as pinkie (e.g., jewelry, pins, boots) 7 16
rings. Doc Martens, triangle earrings, and certain haircuts—les- Got a tattoo or piercing 5 11
bian beauty norms help us find each other. Went from dressing for others to dressing
In her review article on lesbians and physical appearance for self 4 9
Esther Rothblum (1994) theorized that lesbian beauty norms More femme 4 9
serve two specific functions: first, to allow us to identify each More butch 3 7
other; and second, to confer a sense of belonging to the group.
To examine the degree to which women create their appearance In this and other research, a common thread is the sense of free-
to be identified by other lesbians or to establish a sense of dom women felt from the constraining beauty expectations of
belonging to the group, I designed the five-item "Appearance as dominant culture after coming out (e.g., comfortable dress, no
Lesbian Identification Scale." Women rated on a 4-point rating more traditional beauty rituals). A second common thread is that
scale how true each statement was for them (with 0 = "Not at all many women changed their appearance in visible ways consis-
true"; 3 = "Very true"). tent with lesbian beauty norms, notably by cutting their hair.
July-August 2001 29
Moving beyond simply responding to traditional beauty pres- nism and the women's movement (FWM) scale." Psychology of Women
sures, lesbians in tbis study used beauty markers as a creative Quarterly, 18, 1994. Pp. 389-402.
strategy to find and identify eacb otber. Witbin tbis context, one Gamer, D.M., Olmstead, M.P. & Polivy, J. "Development and validation
of a multidimensional eating disorders inventory for anorexia nervosa
purpose of lesbian beauty is clearly functional. A possible side-
and bulimia." International Journal of Eating Disorders, 2, 1983. Pp.
effect of tbis redefinition of beauty norms, bowever, is tbat tbose 15-34.
wbo don't conform to expected lesbian looks may be invisible. Heffeman, K. "Eating disorders and weight concem among lesbians."
If it turns out tbat lesbian beauty norms are as confining as tbe International Journal of Eating Disorders, 19, 1996. Pp. 127-138.
ones we've escaped in mainstream society, tbe question Rothblum, E.D. "Lesbians and physical appearance: Which model
becomes. How do we bonor individual styles and expressions yet applies?" In B. Greene and G. M. Herek (eds). Psychological
maintain tbe functional role tbat beauty markers serve? Perspectives on Lesbian and Gay Issues. Sage Publications, 1994.
Silberstein, L. R., Mishkind, M. E., Striegel-Moore, R. H., Timko, C. &
REFERENCES Rodin, J. "Men and their bodies: A comparison of homosexual and het-
Cogan, J.C., Bhalla, S.K., Sefa-Dedeh, A., & Rothblum, E.D. "A compar- erosexual men." Psychosomatic Medicine, 51, 1989. Pp. 337-346.
ison study of United States and African students on perceptions of obe- Striegel-Moore, R.H., Tucker, N., & Hsu, J. "Body image dissatisfaction
sity and thinness." Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 27, 1996. and disordered eating in lesbian college students." International
Fassinger, R.E. "Development and testing of the attitudes toward femi- Journal of Eating Disorders, 9, 1990. Pp. 493-500. S
ESSAY
Hustler-izcd
DAVID STEINBERG
I
T all started innocently enougb. I got a call from a guy sex—tbe kind tbat sbould be all over tbe place but aren't,
named Stepben Jobnson. He was writing a story about because "respectable" papers won't publisb mucb of any-
sex and developmental disability, a topic tbat bad tbing tbat deals witb sex from a radical or controversial point
interested me for some time. He bad done a Web of view. Despite its serious editorial content, bowever.
searcb and come across a couple of articles I had writ- Spectator looks very much like just another sex rag, and most
ten on tbe subject. One was a report I bad done on a people aren't paying enough attention to notice tbe differ-
conference run by an organization called Tbe Committee on ence. So, wben I'm researcbing a column, I've often gotten
Sexuality, an excellent group tbat bas been trying to bring exactly tbe arcbed-eyebrow response tbat Johnson was expe-
attention to tbe issue of tbe sexual rigbts of developmentally riencing.
disabled people for over 25 years. The otber was an interview What's more, Jobnson sounded like a serious, well-inten-
I bad done witb Dave Hingsburger—tbe wise, funny, gener- tioned young reporter. He responded entbusiastically wben I
ous-bearted Canadian wbo is one of tbe leading spokesmen on spoke about tbe sexuality of developmentally disabled people
tbis issue. as an issue of sexual civil rigbts. I explained tbat developmen-
Jobnson was trying to get some background. He wanted to tally disabled people had as much right to have their sexual
interview me over tbe pbone, even after I explained that I was needs and desires treated respectfully as anyone else. He
no expert on the subject, tbat I didn't have any first-band expe- agreed with me that the widespread institutional neglect and
rience working witb developmentally disabled people, that I outright suppression of tbe sexuality of developmentally dis-
was merely a journalist who had taken a couple of small steps abled people reflected our culture's tendency to relate to sex as
toward talking about an important, ignored issue. But Johnson a danger ratber tban as an opportunity for joy. And be took par-
was having trouble finding anyone wbo wanted to talk to bim ticular note of my interest in the sexual perspectives of devel-
at all. Tbe bitcb was tbat be was writing bis piece for none opmentally disabled people as lessons about our essential sex-
otber tban Hustler magazine. As soon as be mentioned tbe ual natures, about tbe primal nature of our sexuality before it
magazine's name, he explained, people backed away in a becomes acculturated to the seriously distorted expectations of
burry. our sex-phobic society.
I was sympatbetic to bis plight. For the last eight years I've I felt good about my conversation witb Johnson, and came
been a columnist and contributing writer for Spectator, away feeling tbat be had understood and respected my posi-
"California's Original Adult Newsmagazine." Spectator is a tion. I told him that I thought tbese issues needed to be dis-
San Francisco Bay Area tabloid that regularly publisbes cussed more openly, even in as unlikely and potentially dis-
interesting, tbougbtful, (dare I say?) intelligent articles about tasteful a forum as Hustler. He, of course, agreed. He told me
tbat Hustler bad done other articles about sex and disability.
David Steinberg is the author of "Comes Naturally," a monthly column The issue, he said, was of particular relevance to Hustler pub-
dealing with the culture and politics of sex in America, available free lisber Larry Flynt because Flynt bas been in a wbeelcbair ever
from eronat@aol.com (archived at www.sexuality.org/davids.html). since bis near-assassination by a right-wing sniper in 1977.