• Quick note - the problem with Youtube videos not embedding on the forum appears to have been fixed, thanks to ZiprHead. If you do still see problems let me know.

Why do lesbians look like men?

To try an contribute to this thread with something more related to the topic, I am trying to think of lesbian women that I have met through work (I work for a charity helping victims of crime in a part of London with the highest LGBT population). Most would come under description of "average looking" which I suppose most women would come under anyway. A few looked like the stereotype. On the other hand, if I work with people who were attacked because they were gays, I would imagine they are more likely to be targeted if they look like the stereotype of gay man or lesbian woman.

I met clients who were targets of homophobic abuse for looking gay, and not actually being gay.
 
rex said:
How about Jennifer Miller?
Click to expand...

Can't see her genitalia so I can't say yes or no.

My comment was glib but the only truly distinguishing feature between men and women is their genitalia (of course there are some tragic aberrations and injuries that makes even this a generalisation), followed by some of the secondary sexual characteristics i.e. it is unusual for a woman to have a very noticeable beard.

Most of the time when we say a woman looks like a man and vice-a-versa we are only referring to some cultural "norms". So in the 1920s a woman would be considered "mannish" simply because she wore trousers.
 
Darat said:
My comment was glib but the only truly distinguishing feature between men and women is their genitalia (of course there are some tragic aberrations and injuries that makes even this a generalisation), followed by some of the secondary sexual characteristics i.e. it is unusual for a woman to have a very noticeable beard.
Click to expand...

Well, one of the characteristics for a woman to look "mannish" (or vice versa) is to have masculine-looking secondary sexual characteristics. A tall woman with broad shoulders and a barrel chest is going to look relatively masculine. And, of course, there's really not much one can do about one's shoulder width except to try to get clothes that fit properly that give you the look you desire -- there's a very strong genetic and environmental component that transcends personal desire.

Is there a relationship between the "genes for lesbianism" and the genes for broad shoulders? Dunno. No reason to believe there isn't....


Most of the time when we say a woman looks like a man and vice-a-versa we are only referring to some cultural "norms". So in the 1920s a woman would be considered "mannish" simply because she wore trousers.
Click to expand...

This, on the other hand, is under a person's control. I can choose to wear anything I like, from a scuba wet-suit to a Brooks Brothers three piece to a cocktail dress and cowboy boots. We've got lots of evidence to suggest that the clothes I wear, I choose so based on the sociocultural image I wish to project.

Do lesbians tend to have a different sociocultural image they wish to project than the population at large? I'd be very surprised if it were not so.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom