lesbians everywhere "sigh" at the new york times

perhaps to start off, i'll link to an article that appeared in the New York Times this past week titled, Butch Fatale: Lesbian Glamour by Daphne Merkin.

many feminist and queer blog stars have already written their witty little responses, so i'll try not to do too much of that.

instead i'll just link the article and pull out some mind blowing quotes from the high and mighty Merkin (who could use a stern talking to. to be educated in the ways of lesbians really.)

"I don’t think that much about lesbianism,’’ says a young gay male friend of mine, unwittingly stating the problem in a nutshell. ‘‘No one thinks that much about lesbianism. Who cares?’’

This is a matter of equality. Gay men get much more media attention. They are more often characters in movies and tv. You would think that a gay man would realize that putting down a group of people, (fellow gays) is not good for their reputation, when positive representation is needed. There is so much hate and confusion out there from people who don't understand homosexuals.

And if a gay man is thinking a lot about lesbianism, then he might not be so gay. So of course he isn't thinking about two women together...argh

And then there are the gay women, known as ‘‘lipstick lesbians,’’ who look like any other pretty young thing. Indeed, the power of lipstick lesbians relies precisely on the fact that theirs is an exclusively inner ‘‘outing’’; outside they are all mascara, blush and, yes, lipstick. Their allure is in their ability to mimic the normative language of sexual discourse while at the same time poking it in the eye.

when you start equating heterosexuality with normal, there are some problems.

"but she is no bare-faced, unstylish dyke either," (about rachel maddow)

when you're heterosexual and start referring to lesbians as "dykes", it takes on a derogatory tone. "dyke" is a word that 'the other' uses for insult, queer people have taken back these words use them within their community.

it's mainstream representations like these that make lgbtq people's lives that much more difficult. thank you New York Times, for apparently not proof-reading this piece with a critical enough eye.