AfterEllen's Hot 100 for 2009 came out today. I had made a bet that Rachel would debut on the list at number 1. A bold bet, but a wrong one. She's sixth. Let's just say I'll be wearing a tshirt that says "I'm so-and-so's Web Bitch."
I know it's been said before, but the list is overwhelmingly of feminine women. There are very few androgynous women. Rachel, Ellen, Tegan and Sara and....I can't remember any more. I'm trying to figure out the correct question to ask. Are there very few butchier women because those of us who prefer them aren't voting? Is it because celebrities tend to be feminine, 'cause that's what sells, and because of that, there many fewer androgynous women in the celebrity world? The second seems more likely. I can't even remember who I voted for, except Rachel. Oh, Ana Marie Cox. Straight, but can be kind of skater butch, with her awesome tees and blazers. She didn't make the list.
On Twitter, doing a search on "Maddow," will find you all types professing their love or lust. Straight men, straight women, gay men, lesbians, of course. And there's the whole "I'm gay for Rachel Maddow" trend. So I guess butch women can find celebrity outside the butch/femme world. The question is, why do so few? And don't think I know of plenty of celebrities that rock the butch look in their private lives. But AE has correctly chosen pictures that show the celebrities the way they prefer to showcase themselves in their publicity shots. I'm looking at you Jodi.
vs.
Below is a tribute to some women who know you don't have to be wearing a cocktail dress to be hot. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Ana Marie Cox has tattoos! Cute!
ReplyDeleteWith you on the androgynous thing - I find that kind of attractiveness fascinating. I have difficulty explaining it, though. I remember having this impassioned conversation with a guy who thought that Franka Potente from "Run Lola Run" is "mannish", meaning not very attractive (though, don't get him wrong, he'd "still hit that"). I tried to argue that sexy women can have masculine features, but "masculine" felt like the wrong word, because I think femininity can include strong features just like masculinity can include beauty and gracefulness. Which is awesome, but hard to pin down.
I wonder if lesbian women are under pressure to be femme because society sees them as lesser females, not "true women", if they're butch. Of course, parts of society still think that being smart, ambitious, and assertive is "manly" behaviour. Hence the awesomeness of Rachel.
Hell, Girls, even we straight women are under pressure to be femme! I've always been straight, and a tomboy. I am most comfortable in jeans, converse/vans and t's, and my idea of accessorizing is which baseball cap to wear! Yet every day, like our wonderful Rachel, I have to throw on my grown-up lady clothes and go to work. Why? Because I love what I do and it's expected. I am fortunate in that The Hubby totally gets me, and loves me for the 501 wearin', baseball cap sportin' gal that I am, God love him! To top it all off, I don't like wearing makeup (would rather sleep as late as possible!), so people have often tagged me as a lesbian over the years. No big for me, as I am quite secure in who I am. Funny what stereotypes people cling to...
ReplyDeleteBut it's even a struggle to be a straight woman with the demands of society to be more feminine. I'm feminine in my own way, not necessarily the way society wants me to be. And anyone who doesn't like it, well, that's just the way it goes!