Transgender Novels & Stories

Femme is most often a term used to describe a lesbian who exhibits a feminine identity. It is sometimes used by feminine gay men, bisexuals, and transgender individuals.The word femme itself comes from French and means 'woman'. Heavily associated with lesbian history and culture, femme has been used among lesbians to distinguish traditionally feminine lesbians from their butch (i.e. masculine) lesbian counterparts and partners.[a] Derived from American lesbian communities following World War II when women joined the work force, the identity became a characteristic of the working class lesbian bar culture of the 1940s–1950s. By the 1990s, the term femme had additionally been adopted by bisexual women.