Department of Women's Studies & Feminist Research, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.
Gender, Feminist and Women's Studies, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
J Lesbian Stud. 2021;25(1):53-70. doi: 10.1080/10894160.2020.1722925. Epub 2020 Feb 12.
We analyze the intersection of femme, aging, and later-in-life disability by using the popular, contemporary slogan "femme ain't frail" to explore who is erased, excluded, and overlooked when fem(me)ininity is conceptualized as strong, fierce, and chosen. Building from Lisa Walker's position that dominant femme discourse marginalizes the experiences of aging femmes, we analyze the narratives of Amber Hollibaugh, Joan Nestle, Mary Frances Platt and Sharon Wachsler to explore femme experiences of later-in-life disability and aging, and to further trouble existing, popular constructions of femme identity that are predicated upon youth and able-bodiedness. We elaborate on discourses of femme and frailty, bringing them together to explore the ways femme is or, can be, frail. Insofar as femme is located in vulnerability, and vulnerability is associated with frailty, we see how femme might, indeed, be frail, and why this relationship is important to explore, not disavow. We contend that considerations of the frailty of fem(me)ininity can challenge the ageist and ableist orientation of contemporary femme politics and the broader cultural devaluation of fem(me)ininity.
我们通过使用流行的当代口号“女性不是脆弱的”来分析女性气质、衰老和晚年残疾之间的交集，探讨了当女性气质被概念化为强壮、凶猛和选择时，谁被抹去、排除和忽视。基于丽莎·沃克 (Lisa Walker) 的观点，即主导的女性话语使老年女性的经历边缘化，我们分析了安珀·霍利博 (Amber Hollibaugh)、琼·内斯特 (Joan Nestle)、玛丽·弗朗西斯·普拉特 (Mary Frances Platt) 和莎伦·瓦克斯勒 (Sharon Wachsler) 的叙述，以探讨晚年残疾和衰老的女性气质经历，并进一步困扰现有的、流行的女性气质身份构建，这些构建是基于年轻和身体健康。我们详细阐述了女性气质和脆弱性的话语，将它们放在一起探讨女性气质脆弱或可能脆弱的方式。由于女性气质位于脆弱性之中，而脆弱性与脆弱性相关，因此我们可以看到女性气质如何可能确实脆弱，以及为什么这种关系值得探讨而不是否认。我们认为，考虑女性气质的脆弱性可以挑战当代女性主义政治和更广泛的文化对女性气质的年龄歧视和能力歧视倾向。
