Lesbian Stereotypes

Consequences

Lesbian stereotypes are not simply a problem of homophobic attitudes or inaccurate media images; they also have damaging institutional and socioeconomic consequences. In some institutional contexts, such as in the corporate sector or in the realm of professional women's sports, stereotypes about “masculine women” [Page 492]have been used to devalue all women's skills and accomplishments—regardless of their actual sexual desires or practices. For instance, historian Susan Calm has shown that the fear of “mannish” lesbian athletes crystallized in the 1930s as a more general concern about women's declining interest in heterosexual romance and feminine beauty. As a result, sports promoters, physical education teachers, and other leaders of women's sports launched campaigns that placed strategic emphasis on the heterosexuality and femininity of women athletes—a trend that continues today.

This entry critically examines three common lesbian stereotypes: the “bull dyke,” the “lipstick lesbian,” and the “lesbian soccer mom.”

The “Bull Dyke”

Although some lesbians identify with the image of the “bull dyke,” it is often used as a derogatory label to describe masculine or butch lesbians. The aesthetic of the bull dyke has changed over time, yet stereotypes about butch lesbians have remained fairly constant and include the belief that bull dykes are aggressive or stoic, objectively unattractive, and “man-hating.” Butch lesbians are sometimes depicted as tough, muscular, and “one of the guys,” such as the character of “Vasquez” in the 1986 science fiction film Aliens. Yet butches are also typically punished for their masculinity or continually reminded of their presumed inferiority to “real” men (e.g., Vasquez is ridiculed throughout the film Aliens and ultimately kills herself to save the other characters).

Stereotypes about bull dykes attempt to make meaning of butch lesbians from the perspective of heterosexual culture and dominant-gender norms. For instance, while butch lesbians may be perceived as aggressive or sexually undesirable from the viewpoint of heterosexual men (and women), butch masculinity often has a very positive and erotically charged meaning within lesbian subculture. As scholars such as Judith Halberstam have argued, butch sexuality is less a direct imitation of men's lives than a direct challenge to the assumption that men are the sole originators and possessors of masculinity. Halberstam also has noted that society's enduring uneasiness with butch lesbians is evident from their near absence on television. Butch characters, such as the mildly androgynous “Shane” on the television show The L Word, are not ostensibly perceived as butch by many lesbian viewers.

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