‘If Your Face Doesn’t Fit…’: The Misrecognition of Working‐Class Lesbians in Scene Space

A qualitative exploration of whether lesbian and bisexual women are ‘protected’ from sociocultural pressure to be thin

“…This tension is amplified for non-heterosexual women who also experience pressure to conform to the beauty ideals of predominantly White LGB communities (Lyle, Jones & Drakes, 1999). Furthermore, social class has been shown to be important in how lesbian women engage with appearance ideals (Taylor, 2007). It is possible that white middle-class women critique the social ideals in white middleclass mainstream media, but that working-class and non-white women have a different relationship to these ideals.…”

Just One? Solo Dining, Gender and Temporal Belonging in Public Spaces

“…Although there have been significant advances in gender equality in terms of women's entry into the public sphere (for example in politics and the labour market) and consequently their increased presence in public spaces, this body of literature does show that women continue to experience, compared to men, higher degrees of vulnerability, harassment and general feelings of being 'out of place' in public spaces. Similarly to the gendered working class bodies discussed by Skeggs (2004) and Taylor (2007Taylor ( , 2008, the female solo presence needs to be restrained and normalised (Author A 2012(Author A , 2013(Author A , 2014, either by changing one's participation unit to a 'with' or by staying out of public spaces by getting a take-away instead. From this perspective, a woman's participation unit matters because it comprises a significant prism through which gendered and heteronormative expectations are filtered.…”

“…Our paper thus demonstrates how belonging and female respectability are dependent on situational temporal contexts. One's sense of being at ease and entitled to feeling comfort (Taylor 2007(Taylor , 2008) is derived from conforming with temporal conventions. We conclude that belonging to the right participation unit at the right time allows people to territorialise time and to make time their own in a way that can elude solo diners.…”

“…Such an altered spatial and temporal interactional context can set new normative codes 21 for being alone in public and of sociability. Furthermore, the solo dining trend demonstrates how belonging can be achieved through subtle changes in one's social and material surroundings, leading to shifting experiences of fitting in and feeling at un/ease and experiencing dis/comfort (Author B 2013: 81;Taylor 2007Taylor , 2008). An environment which caters to solo diners can enable them to identify with their surroundings and give rise to a feeling of belonging.…”

Introducing lesbian, gay and bisexual appearance psychology

“…A number of studies have noted a "coercive element" (Esterberg, 1996: 277) to appearance mandates in lesbian communities and the marginalisation of lesbians and bisexual women who do not conform to such mandates (Taylor, 2007). Feminine-appearing lesbians and bisexual women in a number of studies have reported feeling marginalised and politically suspect in lesbian space and experiencing pressure to conform to butch/androgynous appearance norms (Levitt, Gerrish & Hiestand, 2003, Taub, 2003.…”