"I've had girls initiate who have buzzcuts and who have long hair": gendered behaviors within modern lesbian hook up settings

Abstract

This article provides a preliminary look into the ways in which lesbian and bisexual women experience sexual agency through their enactment of masculinity or femininity, delimiting women from their traditionally cast roles as sexual objects. Using ethnographic data based on 49.5 hours spent in gay bars and clubs, as well as six supplemental in-depth interviews with lesbian and bisexual women, this study provides a preliminary look into the ways in which women can enact both masculinity and femininity to either aid or hinder the hooking up initiation process. I develop a theory of “masculine privilege” to describe lesbians’ implementation of male entitlement into their hooking up routines, as well as the concept of “feminine leverage” to discuss the use of femininity in hooking up procedures. Furthermore, I contribute to the hook up literature by highlighting the varied ways in which the complex pieces of gender come together in either aiding or hindering all individuals’ sexual pursuits.