Reconsidering Femme Identity: On Centering Trans* Counterculture and Conceptualizing Trans*Femme Theory

Can femme be theory? Exploring the epistemological and methodological possibilities of femme

“…Often, this branching spans across identities, including transgender men, cisgender men, transgender women, cisgender women, and non-binary individuals of all sexual orientations (Blair & Hoskin, 2015;2016;Coyote & Sharman, 2011). Consequently, contemporary femme centralizes and brings together the plurality of queer femininities (Hoskin, 2017a;Shelton, 2018). This ostensible distinction brings with it a reoccurring question within femme scholarship: How can scholars explore emergent contemporary invocations and meanings of femme without conceptually severing the femmes of the "past"?…”

“…What can be made of femme proliferation or plurality, and can femme be applied as a theoretical framework (Hoskin, 2017a;, a figuration (Dahl, 2012), a frame of reference (Shelton, 2018), a category crisis (Samuels, 2003), or an assemblage to rethink femininity (McCann, 2018)? Is the only way to honor fore-femmes by keeping this identity rooted in the very systems by which they, and their butches, were oppressed?…”

“…However, outside of femme scholarship, little theory has addressed how femininity is treated within intersectional analyses independent of womanhood, or how people are treated for being perceived as feminine across social locations (Hoskin, 2019;McCann, 2015;Schippers, 2007). In response, femme theory is used to analyze the commonalities across femme identities, while proposing a theory of critical femininities and feminine gender policing ( femmephobia; Hoskin, 2017a;Shelton, 2018 ). This is achieved by centering traditional femme lesbians as the conceptual jumping point from which to theorize how departures from norms of femininity bring together these multiple femme invocations.…”

“…As I embarked on my own work in this area, I took notice of how the field of femme studies and femme communities had shifted and grown since my initial introduction, encompassing not just feminine lesbians, but queer femininities more broadly (Blair & Hoskin, 2015;2016). Furthermore, femme scholars began to recognize the epistemological value of femme knowledge in further-reaching domains, increasingly using this framework to re-think experiences within and outside a femme existence (Harris & Crocker, 1997;Shelton, 2018).…”

“It just feels right”: Perceptions of the effects of community connectedness among trans individuals

“…Community connectedness is defined as “the strength of an individual’s affiliation with a group to create a mutually influential relationship and sense of belonging” [ 29 – 32 ]. Pflum’s [ 18 ] study of transfemme individuals (those who were not assigned female at birth and present as women or feminine, see [ 33 ] for more on this identity) identified that increasing community connectedness and seeking social support are linked to a decrease in adverse mental health effects. In building a connection with a community, trans individuals may seek support for a variety of reasons, and not always from trans-specific communities.…”