by Maggie Malone

Created on: September 07, 2009   Last Updated: September 08, 2009

Within the LGBT community comes many different classifications of our type. The lesbian labels are so much more obscure then those of the gay. I myself am a lesbian, and if chosen to fit a "butch" or "femme" label, I would be butch.

Stone dyke, lipstick femme, it's all so complicated. But in our worlds, it means a thousand words. Why do we need to have labels? Being in the lesbian community for many years, I can honestly say that I've never heard more then butch, femme, tweener, or stud being used to describe a lesbian.

When third parties see a lesbian, either she's femme or butch, but that isn't quite fair. I wouldn't consider myself a "butch" just because I dress like a man. I am the prime example of a stud. I dress like a man, but I have feminine features and although I like the "girlie girl" I'm usually the one with more emotional involvement. "Butch" lesbians tend to look and act completely like men, and sometimes even consider themselves one without the transition. I don't feel like a man, I just think that this sort of style is a lot more comfortable. I am a lesbian for a reason, I enjoy being a woman and being with women.

Femme's are the "lipsticks." The girly girls of the relationship. A femme is any lesbian that looks like a complete heterosexual girl who is actually homosexual. She takes on the complete role of the girl in all aspects. They look and feel like any straight girl, but are not attracted physically and emotionally to men.

Tweeners is a word a good friend of mine came up with. We use it to describe the lesbians who look one way, but go with the lesbians that look and act like them. For instance if I were to be with another stud, I would be considered a tweener. Or a femme dating a femme. Tweeners most of the time can take on either role in a relationship, their preferences just being a little bit different then any other typical lesbian.

Everyone says that homosexuals are good to get along with because they know what it's like to have to be judged, but homosexuals are just like everybody else when it comes to judgement. We can look at someone and not talk to our own kind because they are "butch" or whatever the case may be.

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