Layers of Lesbian: Scratching the Surface

In the last 100 years, the world has explored the realm of sexual orientation and its gray areas. You can no longer just be heterosexual or homosexual. The terms “gay,” “lesbian,” “transsexual,” “transgender,” and “bisexual” are all generally new in our vocabulary and are often viewed as taboo. However, in the last 50 years, the “lesbian” has been portrayed as having a high range of sexual potency. Lesbian or “girl-on-girl” action has been featured in countless pornographic and even cinematic films. Likewise, in the last 25 years, bisexuality has been encouraged to become a lifestyle that young women should adopt. A bisexual girl is capable of fulfilling a man’s ultimate fantasy: having a sexual encounter with two (or more) women at the same time. Post-millennium, you see this “casual homosexuality” amongst women all over the media.

 
Gay men are not objectified like lesbians are. If two tall, dark, and handsome men kiss on screen, you either hear the audience laugh or even puke. When two girls with long, blonde hair and red lips kiss each other, there is a moment of silence for the admirable act. Lesbians are more socially accepted than gay men, but only if the lesbians appear traditionally feminine as though a, ‘Stepford Wife.’ It is as though it’s “cool” for a woman to be bisexual. I personally have made out with girls, yet I am heterosexual and have never claimed to be either bisexual or a lesbian. Seemingly, I’m a victim; the media has been pushing the female bisexual image into my brain since I first started watching television. The media encourages young women to have homosexual or bisexual ideas. Don’t get me wrong – it was always fun – but if people weren’t watching, would I ever care to be friendly with a girl?
 
What classifies a woman as a lesbian or bisexual? Who are the women that are kissing other women out of true passion?

           
Katy Perry, American pop-star, will tell you she is no lesbian. She may even inform her fans that she is not even bisexual. Her debut hit “I Kissed a Girl” is blasphemy to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (L.G.B.T.). In the chorus of the song she writes:
 
I kissed a girl and I liked it – the taste of her cherry Chapstick. I kissed a girl just to try it. I hope my boyfriend don’t mind it. It felt so wrong; it felt so right, don’t mean I’m in love tonight
 
These lyrics are a message to young women, saying: Make out with your best friend and still be a heterosexual. It is a joke to fall in love with another woman anyways. Every girl in her music video is skinny, has curled hair, and has sleepwear on. Eventually, they all start pillow fighting. This image portrays women as the gender that should remain petite and pretty. The way a lesbian appears has nothing to do with their being a homosexual. Lesbians can wear lipstick and dresses if that is how they choose to personally express themselves. The women who force themselves into bisexuality, along with heterosexual women, are the fans chanting this song. Lesbians do not allow the heterosexual male population to influence their lifestyles. The vision of the lesbian cheerleaders you saw in a pornographic film dehumanizes women as sexual beings and strives to show that females are the weaker sex. 
 

Another celebrity, Tila Tequila, is arguably the self-proclaimed whore that MySpace.com is responsible for. Tila has double D breasts, double 0 jeans, and no talent. She is openly bisexual, and therefore M.T.V. produced the reality series “A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila” in 2007. This was the first dating show with males and females competing against one another to win a particular person’s heart. There were macho men, butch lesbians, and lipstick lesbians all living in the same house for Tila. In the season finale episode, Tila picked a man over a butch lesbian. M.T.V. gave Tila a second season – probably so the fans could see if she would pick a female to protect her bisexual identity, which she did. Tila chose a tall, blonde, lipstick lesbian to court her. The lipstick lesbian cried and said, “I’m sorry, I just can’t.”
 
So, what is a lesbian? Is it a woman who has made love to another woman? There are women who have shared a sexual experience with another woman and still do not claim to be lesbian or bisexual. Is a lesbian a woman who dreams of sleeping with other women? Yes and no. Just because you have several homosexual fantasies does not mean your heterosexual fantasies cannot outnumber them and overall dominate them. A bisexual woman has sexual relations with both genders and/or seeks to romantically pursue each.
 
If you think that I am a closet bisexual woman, you’re wrong. There will not be a single day of my life where I go on a date with another female (even if she’s paying). I am attracted to both men and women, but my romantic chemistry only exists with men. Therefore, I am heterosexual. Unfortunately, America has swallowed me into a category known as “bi-curious.” This means that I am curious about the same gender, but I still claim the opposite sex as the ultimate object of my affection.
 
In order to understand why the image of lipstick lesbians is being thrown through the silver screen, you must think like a man or “the man.” Two girls kissing each other appear desperate for affection or a man’s touch. The women are using each other as an alternative since there are no men around. With this desperation, the weakness of the image is obvious. The man wants to feel dominant over women by creating lesbians. Also, if the lesbians appear as Stepford wives, then the image becomes even weaker. It is as though the man is saying, “Oh, you’re lesbians, alright, but you’re still dressed in pink and have long hair. You do not adopt that ‘butch’ look. A woman, no matter what sexual orientation, should always look like this. This is how real women look.” A man having multiple women in bed at the same time is seen as an astounding accomplishment in this nation. That man is able to find two females that would sleep with each other and him. The girl that has sex with two men at the same time is not accomplishing anything. In fact, she is putting herself in a weak position. There are no queens in this world, only kings. So ladies, the next time you are about to make out with your girlfriend at an alcohol-fueled party, ask yourself if you could ever fall in love with her. If you know that you cannot, why would you kiss her now and in front of everyone? It is a crowd-pleasing move, but it also shows that you are a follower and seek social approval. If you are a woman who intends to find another woman to have a relationship with, then kiss as many women as you would like.