Out of Sight, Out of Mind? Theorizing Femme Narrative

Bibliographic Data

ID18950239
AuthorsClare Hemmings (0000-0003-1253-4547, London School of Economics and Political Science, corresponding author)
Year1999
Volume2
Issue4
Pages451-464
Publication date1999-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSexualities (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1363-4607 • E-ISSN: 1461-7382
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/136346099002004005
OpenAlexW2159396965
LanguageEN
Citations received16
References cited7

This article addresses the issue of femme subjectivity in relation to a range of theoretical and cultural texts. It considers the lasting legacy of Havelock Ellis's construction of the feminine invert, particularly in terms of the importance of the gendered gaze in producing sexual location. The article traces dominant and resistant femme narrative, and asks how we might begin to think through femme subjectivity and identity differently. It is argued that, unlike the contemporary butch, the femme cannot be positioned as the lesbian flâneur. Instead, possibilities are suggested that might be opened up by considering the femme as `passante', particularly insofar as she eludes her biographer's gaze

Aesthetics · Art · Epistemology · Gaze · Human sexuality · Lesbian · Literature · Narrative · Psychoanalysis · Sexual identity · Sociology · Subjectivity · American and British Literature Analysis · Gender Studies · Historical Studies on Reproduction, Gender, Health, and Societal Changes · Literature: history, themes, analysis · Philosophy · Psychology

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub