How Stereotypes About What Queer Women Look Like Erases Femmes

There are a lot of stereotypes about the way queer women are “supposed” to look. Short hair, bow ties, flannel — the norm is that queer women present more masculine.

And while that is a perfectly valid form of expression, the normalization of this image can lead to the erasure of queer women who don’t present this way.

Check out this poem by Joy Young recalling how a femme friend of theirs had to fight for visibility in the queer community.

Video courtesy of Button Poetry. For more amazing spoken word performances, check them out on YouTube and Facebook.

To learn more about this topic, check out the following:

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Joy Young is a poet who currently lives and performs in Phoenix, AZ. Joy’s writing and spoken word performance work explores nuanced understandings of gender, sex, and sexuality. Recently, Joy placed first at the 2012 Phoenix Festival of Arts Individual Slam and successfully competed to be a representative on the Phoenix Slam Team. They were also the Women of Sedona Slam champion, earning their the venue’s slot for the 2013 Women of the World Slam. Check out their website for more information on their many ongoing projects, or follow them on Twitter @haiKutepoet.