Lipstick or Timberlands? Meanings of Gender Presentation in Black Lesbian Communities

C onsider the ways in which the following women explain gender pre- sentation in one black lesbian community: Asa Bambir (age 34, executive assistant): 1 In New York I saw more of this butch-femme thing and I was a little floored by it, a little shocked, like why do people have to play these roles? . . .But at the same time I looked at it in awe because there was a part of my childhood when I really liked wearing boyish clothes, but I never did. . . .So, I was very intrigued by it, and I think over the years I've just been allowing that to surface.I really do like wearing boyish clothes.Were you drawn to women who were more feminine looking or less feminine looking?I was definitely drawn to women who were feminine looking, very feminine looking.Lynn Witherspoon (age 33, corporate attorney): When I first started to come out . . . it was interesting because I had this type that I was attracted to, and yet when I was going out I was always attracting the more butch looking women.And I was like, "Oh, I'm carrying this purse," and all of these other things, you know, all these things you do in the straight community.So I had to change the way I dressed, and I stopped carrying a purse, and I was able to find women who I was more attracted to, to go out with.