11/8/07

Are you Butch, Femme or Lost in the Middle?

Sometimes when I'm not working too hard, my mind likes to wander and usually leads me down random thought processes that have nothing to do with anything. For example, the other day I was trying to decide what I would label myself in the lesbian community. I feel as though I am caught somewhere between very femme and very butch (my "normal" look, seen at right). I often dress like a tomboy and act like one too, yet I like to wear makeup and can even be seen in heels on rare occasions. I started to wonder, is there a name for this? I think that maybe I am a femmeboi (I also may have just made that up), although I did dress in drag recently on Halloween (me in drag, seen at below) when I went out with friends into the craziness that is West Hollywood on Halloween. Interestingly enough, I seemed to be mistaken for a dude quite a bit. To my own surprise, I actually had fun dressing in drag and think it is always interesting to push the boundaries of gender stereotypes. I felt like I was being checked out more by gay guys (than straight women) which was surprising, but maybe the women were on to me. Anyway, my rambling on all of this and my day-dreaming thoughts have lead me to ask you the following question:

do you ever wonder where you fall on the butch-femme scale?


This is not just in regards to physical appearances either, but I'm asking you to dig down on a much deeper level; emotional, personality, outlook on life, etc. How a lesbian dresses may not be reflective of their personality, although most women seem to mirror their general demeanor through their appearance.

Most lesbian women tend to fall somewhere between extremely femme and extremely butch. There's a lot of variation in between and although I'm generally not into putting a label on or stereotyping people, I found a very interesting and thorough quiz that really breaks down the butch/femme spectrum. I will warn you, at 100 questions the test is rather lengthy, although it seems to be complete and thorough and if you ask me, it's definitely worth taking the time to fill it out. Plus, it's pretty funny too. You might even surprise yourself when it comes to the final answer, which isn't just a one-word response, but rather a lengthy explanation of why you are what you are.

I'd love to see your results, so please post them in the comments section. In case you're wondering, I got Androgyne, which exactly in the middle of the butch/femme spectrum (and makes the most sense too!)

Take the Quiz here!

Here is the full spectrum list, for your reference:
EF - Extreme Femme
LF - Lipstick Femme
CF - Classic Femme
PF - Practical Femme
SF - Strong Femme
SA - Soft Androgyne
AN - Androgyne
HA - Hard Androgyne
GB - Gentle Butch
FB - Feminist Butch
CB - Classic Butch
BB - Boot Butch
EB - Extreme Butch

Post your results in the comments section!!



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13 comments:

Bill Graber said...

I guess I might be some place in the middle... I like to be comfortable, but sometime I do like to dress up like a girl.

Bill Graber said...

The Quiz results say I am a STRONG FEMME... that I guess would be me.

Anonymous said...

Ha! This was fun! And surprising. Surprising at how accurate I thought it was. The Quiz results say I'm Hard Androgyne. The description they gave was pretty much on the nose! Though I still have to say I probably look more femme than I feel inside.

Great POST! I wonder about this alot.

Unknown said...

I liked and recommend the test. it's clever and hilarious. well done. my result is soft androgyne. i agree.

Anonymous said...

The quiz said I was an Androgyne. After reading the definition I was surprised. That is definatly me, no doubts about it!

Anonymous said...

I, in acknowledgment of my multidimensionality, have been calling myself - when pushed for a label - a "DombottomFemmeboi" for a good 10 years now. It works, and I'm not surprised to know that others have found their way to the same place.

I am more Domina and femme in that I usually wear some makeup, will happily have someone else carry my knapsack (or carry nothing), and am quite happy in my heels, but I mostly prefer comfort unless there is a special reason to be more.

Surprise, I am an Androgyne on your scale, although many questions need to be updated to include electronic options (like sending an e-card, or searchig the internet for information) and, of course, there were many questions for which I really preferred none of the options. I am Canadian so I love the outdoors and camping, which I am sure counter-balanced my "femme"

Thanx

Anonymous said...

The test says I'm androgyne. And surprisingly it's right! My body isn't androgyne at all but femme, but my soul is. Amazing!

Anonymous said...

I am so freaking confused... I've always been pretty firm about the fact that I don't identify. I'm attracted to women, but I'm a virgin in that sense. How am I supposed to relax enough to be with a woman when there are so many CLASSIFICATIONS that it seems I have to take into consideration? I like men, I like women... I don't like to identify as anything but ME. Help! I want to sleep with a woman, but this label shit is freaking me out!

The Leather Trunke said...

Would a strong femme be the equivalent of a hard fem?

Anonymous said...

I classify myself as a butch/femme so i got androgyne, I go through so much hair gel but i also use mascara and concealer.......

Anonymous said...

I got gentle butch... but... just gentle? Lol

Unknown said...

I got hard androgyne. That will be me. Before I took this test, I indentified myself as butch, I dont even know that androgyne exist. I took this test 3 times and got the same result, so this test is very accurate in my opinion. I don't really like labels, but I don't like when people said to me that I have to be more girly. So I need a label to shoo them away from telling me things.

Nicole said...

I got Strong Femme which is funny, since that's what I recently called myself one day when I was at a loss to describe myself.