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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to wonder why lesbians go for women that look like men?

453 replies

carriedababi · 19/06/2011 23:19

surely if you fancy women you'd want to go out with a woman that looked like \ woman not a man.
nothing against gay/lesbians at all.

but this seems a bit strange to me

OP posts:
basingstoke · 19/06/2011 23:58

Dont you think there might be somewhere between "very girly" and "looking like a man"?

Carminaburana · 20/06/2011 00:00

Absolutely agree Hester - They're much sexier too!

mdowdall · 20/06/2011 00:00

I disagree with the OP. Queen's Court in Leeds is fully of lesbo totty on fri and sat nights.

carriedababi · 20/06/2011 00:01

another question ive asked my friend ishow the hell does she cope when they row, as i personally find most men as quite simple emotinally

imo men try to "fix" things and women often just want to talk about/air their problems
ie womans had a bad day at work, the man starts trying to offer solutions of how to fix the situation, where as a woman maybe more like to offer a sympathetic ear

etc

so if i was gay, i think i'd find it quite a headfuck going out with a woman, who i may fin more challenging to deal with emotionally than a man

if you get what i mean at all

in other words i would imagine rows woman v woman would be much harder to deal with

although on the upside, when your getting on well, you could be v v intune with each other

i'm just thinking out loud here really

OP posts:
animula · 20/06/2011 00:04

I'm going to answer this latest question humourously:

Maybe they row less? Statistically, lesbians manage a fairer division of houswework and have a more equitable work/life/parenting balance (when they have children).

Hoooooow many rows in heterosexual couples arise because of the above?

adamschic · 20/06/2011 00:04

Isn't it a nature thing. Sexuality is a bit blurred so some women have more male hormones and therefore fancy women, some men have more female hormones and therefore fancy men. Happens in the womb. Ok will duck and run as I know nowt about this.

Tortoiseonthehalfshell · 20/06/2011 00:05

Ah, I see, you're one of those things who thinks that men and women can be neatly separated into little stereotypical boxes whereby men are 'visual' and 'simple' and 'can't multi-task' and women are empathetic and like shoes and wear lipstick.

No wonder this is confusing you, then.

hester · 20/06/2011 00:08

Fun fast, adamschic Grin
There's nowt wrong with my hormones. Your suggestion presupposes that heterosexuality is normal, so that a woman can only fancy a woman if she is actually a bit of a bloke.

garlicnutter · 20/06/2011 00:11

She's right that sexuality is a bit blurred, though. I'm sure we wouldn't find that surprising, if it weren't for all those male experts frantically binarising everything in order to avoid the possibility that they might, sometimes, fancy some men, a bit ...

adamschic · 20/06/2011 00:14

Takes cover. Most people I know are straight.

carriedababi · 20/06/2011 00:23

We also have talked about what makes a person gay, personally I don't think anyone chooses to be gay, I thinks a combO of nature and nurture but I think it's interesting even if some peole think you shouldn't talk about these things

I think it good to talk about it

OP posts:
5DollarShake · 20/06/2011 00:40

I think the OP is getting a bit of a hard time - I don't think it's an unreasonable question to ask, and hopefully some of the explanations have enlightened her.

If we don't ask, we stay ignorant. OK, perhaps she's framed the question/s in a way which some might not approve of, but at least she's willing to have her eyes opened, no?

And to whoever said '...so that's your theory ruined, OP', well, she was never espousing a theory..? Confused She was just wondering.

I'll be honest and say that it's something I've wondered about in passing myself and I count myself as very exposed to the gay lifestyle - my brother's gay, Dad's best friend's daughter's gay, my best friend's brother is gay, my boss is gay, yada, yada, yada.

Of course, when you think about it - it's a silly question because it's simply not true - lesbians (as if they're one great homogenous mass of humanity) don't go for women who look like men. Some do, sure. But the whole idea is brought down when you consider that it's only butch-looking lesbians that - what's the best way to say this? - stand out from the crowd. All the lesbians who look like you and me, i.e. women, are clearly not with butch lesbians (since, again, they look like what they are - women), so it's only a small percentage who go for women that look like men.

My Dad's BF's daughter who I've known since we were born is neither feminine nor masculine-looking. She just looks like herself. She neither dresses up, nor dresses down - she just dresses without any particular enhancement to her appearance - pretty much like all men do. I mean, beyond the basic maintenance and hygiene that men do. Her wife, the same (although her dress sense is definitely more vibrant! Grin).

moonferret · 20/06/2011 00:41

Ha! Well...gay men tend to be "effeminate" and gay women tend to be "butch". Not all, but a good number. So consequently their options will be limited to "effeminate" men in the case of gay men or "butch" women in the case of lesbians. That's obvious isn't it?!

5DollarShake · 20/06/2011 00:44

Oh yeah, and as for the rowing thing - I sometimes find DH's tendency to want to fix things highly annoying. Sometimes I just want a sympathetic ear; i don't want a practical solution. It's something he just doesn't 'get', and would go a long way to minimising some of our rows!

Although again - not all men are even like that. Some men are fixers, and some are not, so even women in straight relationships might have to deal with the issue you raise. Quite a lot of gender-based generalisations coming from the OP, which is where I think you're going wrong, in the first place.

Surely these things are part and parcel of any relationship - basic compatibility and working out how to communicate most effectively with each other.

5DollarShake · 20/06/2011 00:50

Tortoise - yeah, men are from Mars and women are from Venus, dontchaknow... Grin

OP - you're going to struggle through life understanding people if you keep believing that huge great swathes of the population will fit neatly into some little box you've got in your mind.

People are people - you simply can't generalise based on gender or sexuality in any meaningful way.

And moonferret - how many gay people do you actually know??

moonferret · 20/06/2011 00:55

Enough to know I'm right...

ReadyToDrink · 20/06/2011 01:10

Hester, I just want to say that I found your 'pro-butch'(!) post actually very moving :)

swallowedAfly · 20/06/2011 02:39

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swallowedAfly · 20/06/2011 02:44

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iscream · 20/06/2011 04:44

Everyone does not judge people by their appearance. In all types of couples you will see men and woman both with plain looks, androgynous looks, masculine looks, feminine looks.
if all woman cut their hair, wore no make-up, dressed in plain clothing, they may all look like "butch" lesbians.
Have you seen kd lang's Vogue photo shoot? Take a look. kd girly kd girly2
kd natural

It may be difficult for you to understand because you are not yet at the point in your growth and understanding of people to appreciating the inner beauty of a person. But you are asking yourself questions, so it is a start!

Lovecat · 20/06/2011 07:37

Thanks for those links, iscream. kd lang is so bloody gorgeous no matter what she's wearing - I love her... but then I go for very feminine looking men too... (omg! Perhaps I'm a closet man or lesbian as the two appear to be interchangeable on this quite mad thread?!)

OP, as we've talked buttercream before and you seemed quite lovely then, I am really hoping your OP and subsequent posts are asked out of innocent (albeit daft) enquiry. Lots of women on this thread have given very thoughtful, good answers to your question, I do hope you've read them (as you haven't acknowledged them at all), they may be food for thought.

I'm going to my first civil partnership in July... both women involved are very feminine. Can't wait to see both wedding dresses !

Andrewofgg · 20/06/2011 08:11

Each to their own and there's no accounting for tastes!

Wamster · 20/06/2011 08:22

I think it is your perception that is to blame.

If say, you just looked at a picture of two women NOT knowing their sexuality, you might think nothing of how 'butch' they look.

If, however, you look at the same photo knowing that they are lesbians you will find traditionally 'male' characteristics in one of them (such as short hair) because it fits in with your view of what a couple should be i.e. one male, one female.
This does not make you homophobic as such, just that we all like things to fit into our world view.

Shakirasma · 20/06/2011 08:25

Sometime a woman's style is a reflection not just of who they are, but how they are iyswim. Contrary to the myths perpetuated by the porn industry their roles in the bedroom are not neccessarily 50 50 . Some people are more givers and some are more takers.

Butch lesbians tend to be a bit more dominant in the bedroom basically. Of course this is a generalisation

TurkeyBurgerThing · 20/06/2011 08:28

I think someone watches Jeremy Kyle too much!