im sick fucking of the queer community at large propagating the bullshit dichotomy between feminine and “femme.” i.e. that feminine = something that others put on you / apolitical / some male gazey shit whereas “femme” = reclaimed femininity on one’s own terms as an act of rah rah empowerment. its really fucking gross & anti-woman to make the blanket assumption that folks who happen to be feminine-presenting / hold traditionally “feminine” interests but aren’t into talking about queering their makeup collection are puppets of patriarchy. gender expression is not always a progressive or political act. sometimes it is but you can also still have agency & be critical / anti-patriarchy without making youtube videos about your political decision to wear fishnets.
the only thing that really differentiates feminine from “femme” is that the later is a cultural signifier. nothing is inherently wrong with that - in fact, i totally get the importance of using language that links you to a community of others with similar interests & who engaged in similar struggles. but we have to remember that this said community primarily young / white / western / educated. and that, for some of us, gender expression and play is not our primary tool of resistance.
(btw yes, i am referring to the first minute or so of this video. i stopped watching after the first bit because i was too busy yawning. but yeah, this isn’t the first time i’ve heard these arguments).
