Abstract

Quite a number of heated arguments have been put forth in the controversy about the meanings and appropriate uses of femme identities. In this article, the authors apply a functionalist theoretical framework, developed to explicate the links between gender and gender identities, to reframe the disputes about femme gender. They position two femme identities as responding to distinctive forms of oppression—one that centralizes the affirmation of gender diversity in the face of cisgenderism, and one that centralizes lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) femininity to counter femmephobia. They consider the subversive functions of the two identities in terms of unmet needs across four domains. These needs include the need for authenticity in identity (psychological domain); for the prizing of socially devalued characteristics (cultural domain); for security and affiliation (interpersonal domain); and for aesthetic desirability rather than shame (sexual domain). Instead of seeing the two femme identities as at odds, they see them as serving some shared functions, but also distinctive functions in resisting stigma of varied forms. The framework can be applied to other forms of femme-inity (and other genders) to distinguish the varied meanings inherent in gender identities and facilitate research that advances gender theory.

摘要

在关于女性身份的含义和适当使用的争论中，已经提出了许多激烈的争论。在本文中，作者采用了功能主义的理论框架，该框架旨在阐明性别与性别认同之间的联系，以重新构筑关于女性性别的争议。他们将两种女性身份认同作为对独特压迫形式的回应-一种在面对性别歧视时集中了对性别多样性的肯定，另一种将女性同性恋，同性恋，双性恋，变性者和同性恋者（LGBTQ +）的女性化特征集中起来，以对抗女性恐惧症。他们在四个领域的未满足需求方面考虑了两个身份的颠覆功能。这些需求包括对身份（心理领域）真实性的需求；the奖社会贬值的特征（文化领域）；为了安全和从属关系（人际关系）；并且出于审美的需要，而不是羞耻（性领域）。他们没有看到两个蛇蝎身份是矛盾的，而是把它们看作有共同的功能，而且在抵抗各种形式的污名方面也具有独特的功能。该框架可以应用于其他形式的女性特征（和其他性别），以区分性别认同固有的各种含义，并促进推进性别理论的研究。