buzzing3starhotel:

in stone butch blues leslie feinberg talked abt the 3 items of women’s clothing rule where the police who raided lesbian bars wld check to see how much these women were still upholding femininity. i have never been thru that but i remember reading it + how much it resonated w me. this rule has not been expelled from our cultures mentality… i remember telling a straight woman i was considering getting a buzzcut + the 1st thing she said was ‘oh, they look great w big hoop earrings.’ there’s like a sort of balancing act where for every item of men’s clothing u’ve got to do penance thru makeup + accessories……. + its got everything to do w reassuring the person viewing you, who might feel challenged by ur shirt or jacket or jeans + so needs to be able to look down n take comfort from the pair of heels on ur feet. saddest manifestation is definitely when we internalize it– when the fear of being marked not-woman makes us wear sth we hate, just for some tie 2 femininity. the more masculine the clothing, the thicker the makeup