In reply to Robin Gordon
> Scott is certainly right when she says that without explicit sexual
> content, characters coded as lesbian will not be SEEN to be
lesbian.
> Items meant to code a character as lesbian will be read as gender
> deviations, not as gender and sexual orientation signals.
Whilst I am not challenging Scott's choice (I love the books) I *still*
resent the increasing demand that we all be sexualised, and it is that
I regret. Gender roles have opened up enormously, but we seem to
have fallen into the trap that liberation equals sex.
>
> This is true for many of us in real life as well. I purposefully code
my
> appearance as lesbian, but still am constantly confronted by the
> assumption that I am straight. This creates a constant need to
explicitly
> out myself.
And I have problems as an identified lesbian in a relationship with a
man (the only other bi women I know are principally attracted to men
so I am uncomfortable with the term). Even close friends refuse to
accept either my history or my identification, but I have been the
route of *looking* like a dyke (whatever that means) and didn't feel
right but how out can you be when people don't ask?
Farah
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu May 25 2000 - 19:06:16 PDT