Masculinity behind the Masquerade: The Problem of Reading Queer Femininity

This chapter focuses on the notion that particular ways of understanding femininity have been historically ‘othered’ within critical gender theory.1 From Pamela Robertson’s discussions of female ‘camp, ' that positions women embracing feminine excess against a backdrop of male homosexuality, 2 to Angela McRobbie’s critique of pleasure-seeking women whom she dubs ‘phallic girls, '3 this chapter examines why masculinity readings are often privileged as a marker of resistance to hegemonic notions of femininity and why some aspects of the category of femininity are often not in and of themselves considered as centralising concepts for analyses of gender. Along these lines, this chapter focuses on two central premises: first, within contemporary feminist writing, femininity is often viewed as symbolically representative of oppression and/or symptomatic of a problematic post-feminist raunch culture; second, queer theory perspectives allow for different viewpoints on the same phenomena as that considered within feminist writing (such as interrogating raunch culture) but tend to offer readings that predominately focus on appropriations of masculinity as markers of female resistance, rather than considering the subversive potential of femininity per se. Following from these premises, this chapter explores the rise of the queer femme movement as exemplary of offering accounts of gender resistance wherein femininity is a central standalone concept, without recourse to questions of masculinity. This chapter contributes to a limited but growing body of research that focuses on femme identity, and extends analysis to more general critiques of femininity being made outside of queer theoretical approaches in academia. Investigation of writing on femme reveals at once a sense of resistance to hegemonic gender norms whilst simultaneously recovering some aspects of femininity from a theoretical positioning as ‘other.' However, this chapter also raises questions regarding the possible re-inscription of new queer hegemonies that femme writing is at risk of instantiating. In particular, the problem of dominant and overarching empowerment narratives in recuperating femininity as worthy of investigation is considered.