This is just something lighthearted for the timeline, considering a lot of the news and other events have been a strain on ourselves and our community. Like it wasn’t enough we had to deal with the trans bullshit, but now we have to deal with the looming threat of an aggressive resurgence of traditional homophobia due to the trans bullshit.

It’s been recognized that gay males have terms of describing themselves with words such as “otter”, “bear”, and “twink”. I’m not advocating for lesbian culture to follow similar trends like gay males do, as we are clearly different, but I have noticed some terms have come up organically. It’s a fun thought experiment of what we too can claim considering we have to fight to even use the word “lesbian” nowadays.

Feel free to give suggestions to this list. Some are terms I’ve created previously, and some are terms I’ve taken up from the last time this discussion was had:

• Black Cat Femme- usually attributed to an assertive femme lesbian with an aloof (or seemingly aloof) personality. Often black cats appear mysterious, can be exceptionally witty, and sarcastic. Black cats tend to overlap with domme femmes, but the two are not mutually exclusive.

• Golden Retriever- usually a tomboy lesbian with an outgoing personality. This type of tomboy tends to be fun-loving, adventurous, and a social butterfly. I tend to not like to attribute this label to women as it has a negative connotation about intelligence. When I think “Golden Retriever”, I think of someone who has the lights on, but nobody is home, and is overly friendly to her detriment. I mean, have you ever met a golden retriever?

• Seahorse- a butch woman in the relationship who carries the child.

• Swan Femme- attributed to a beautiful femme who looks deceivingly innocent. In reality, this femme is someone who takes no shit, and will defend herself and her partner without second thought. Often she is protective of her partner and loved ones, and advocates for topics, people, and concerns she cares about.

• BONUS: Domme femme- this does not have any relation to BDSM. A domme femme is simply a femme who is the dominant partner in the relationship. She is often the breadwinner, knows what she wants, and knows how to get it. She’s often very successful in work environments.