Van drag king tot lipstick lesbian : ’n voorlopige kontinuum van lesbiese genderidentiteit met spesifieke toepassing op die Afrikaanse kortverhaal

Abstract

This article investigates lesbian gender identity as a number of possible performances of masculinities and femininities. Depending on the combination of masculinities and femininities, these identities can be placed alongside a continuum of lesbian gender expressions, with the extremes being female masculinity and female femininity, respectively. Two Afrikaans short stories, “Mamy Blue en ek onthou” (Welma Odendaal) and “Aan die einde van die reënboog” (Jeanne Goosen), are analysed according to this continuum to show that various manifestations of the lesbian subject exist. In these stories, five identities are postulated: the drag king, the stone butch, the Nike dyke, the straight-acting lesbian and the lipstick lesbian. This continuum-approach makes a reinterpretation of texts incorporating lesbian gender identities possible and stresses the various functions of such representations.