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Butch, Femme, Dyke, Or Lipstick, Aren't All Lesbians The Same?: An Exploration Of Labels And "Looks" Among Lesbians In The U.S. South, Danielle Kerr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an exploratory qualitative sociological analysis of gender, sexuality, and race among "out" lesbians in the U.S. south. In this thesis, I explore the following questions: (1) what labels are self-identified lesbians in the south using and/or applying to themselves, and how do they use them? (2) how do they talk about and experience their dress as a part of their identity? (3) how are lesbians doing gender and sexuality in both private and professional environments? (4) how does southern location influence lesbians' conceptualization of their gender and sexuality? This research expands current understandings in the literature regarding …