Femme

Femme refers to a sexual and gender identity typically associated with gender expression and presentation congruent with culturally defined feminine norms. A femme is typically one who identifies with or is presenting oneself in a feminine manner through dress, makeup, and mannerisms and generally taking on all or some aspects of culturally defined expressions of femininity. “Femme” can be used across gender identities, including cisgender and transgender men and women. Femme came into usage in Western [Page 570]countries around the 1940s, as a part of butch-femme culture in lesbian communities. The term has expanded in its current usage to encompass any feminine identified person within queer communities. “Femme” in lesbian contexts is associated with an identity, such as “I am a femme lesbian,” whereas in ...