.

,:[

Ad(dresing) the
ro
rhe recent
emersence ofthe patentlydesirable male
."__::i:i
%

Chapter Fifieen

,
,h

Ad(dressing) the dyke

t,

i-@r,oodif-'"
*U;"4 of tf'" active

Lesbian loohs and lesbians hohing

nudewithin qrinsgg3lg sg!gg!31g!ggion'

imagery.
us

.f
* - .."t*f"g .

i"

*"men

hry,e

d i

'
the woman who is the

t" the

l(

lo"g b,ttn tu

pu'iilifr7.aiiffi*ith

*d r"ryondlg

"tttttingof

dlhe ' 179

male gazeAexuality (as will bE-?Ee6sEd-ii qreaSr aetil |ate1| H3wev1

potentially involves far more comd.exjols ojidentification and
admiration from desiring to be
to

i;ffi;"cg*;,U,,iit p#."

Reina Lewis and Katrina Rolley

fr.".. ,fu ff"rfr""a ofyok sibort

This articlestemmed from ourrealization thatalifetime'scommitmentto read.ing fuhionmagazines

was neither a solitary nor an un-lesbian activity. Not only were lots ofother lesbians doing it, but
we all seemed to like the same spreads. A straw poll ofwho had cut out what to stick on or in which
wall/dcsk/wallet revealed a commonality of visual oleasures. Thii led us to explore what it was
about these particular im;F;il4;;;Al;6i*
viewers. we should be clear frorh the start
that this iuwey is highly selective, based on our own readings and on opinions gattrered ftom
friends and resPonses to conference papers. The magazines we sampled were all mainsueam high
f*hion magazines from the 1990s - Vogua Vogae ltalia ,Elh and, Maie Ctairc - since we were

intereSted to analyse the possible lesbian- v

r*. naa of
cultural production thatis understood to beaimedaran exciusivelyfemate (and overdyhetetosexual)
audiencerp.fe
P1(,".!for., .t tered into the rea]m ofthe moie avant-garde'lifesryle' magazines,

sudtasfheFal]dQp,]incetheseaddressamixedaudienceandareoftend"liberat
rn content and lmagery.
This article approaches the lesbian

gaze

from

a variery

the fashion magazine frrnctions as amainstream space

expressed/&il
fii'Eexamfi;rE;

vJ!ge!-p!:gure; and the

mainsffifashioo
rw.o piuts were

close"
this,fact, was broughtiometo -erecentlywhen attendingan ixhibition entided'chambre
male companion
featuring Benina iheimd Photograph.s of nated and semi-naked women' My
and very appearance-conscious: perceivedall the pictured
p".ozurio.,a mod.ls, wher.as I was immediately iatrigued by the fact that thi,s clearly

In'rnooucrronr

posirionings can be

men not noticing new hairstyles, new dresses,_and so on- lndeed

i-.g"s.

of angles: the first section explores how

inwhich

specifically

lyprovlcative

pluraliryof possiblvd*iarrtr.xual

l",bianp-lEilrEGF.Ei-Ey

-"1.

"

rliGi-ot

autho..d, the first

written by one dr odrer of us, in the context of shared discussion.

Txr qunrn spAcE

oF THE FAsHroN MAGAzNE

and lesbian \{omcn. During thico_urse.o[ rhis exploration I will suggesJthat

Efr-.[Erg,,fuL ,,
fgr
makingthe lesbian's'ostensibly seaiG*
*1
"lt
supplementary, rather than necessarily oppositional, to the predicated r.adings, This contradiction
stems from the fact that due to its impeccable (heterosexualj credertirtr,
egEd&hierr-BagBuirr.
offers a space widrln which rules can be broken: it is a fascinarion with ,hir rr*rnuti".
subversive
"rrd
dualiry tFar animaGiFin-dlfiISliEjs Eirerial.
Rlesponses to the recent proliferation
..
'bodies

*"*.",

'perfect' enough
since t-he women's faces and bodies, while attractive, just were not

to firlfil current codes o[ model good looks.

The specificiry of my visual r.sponse was hardly surprising given that from 4gggly:ge':aromen
other women's

.*" *a

...p.r-.r*ry n:e$ available ,.g".dI.., of in"ome: they are passed around at school, :Ire a staple
be flicked rhrough at any large station, supermarket or statignery
of *Ly *ritirrg .oo"rrd -"y
fashion images in a way similar ro the male consumption of
consume
*o*"r,
Cirl,
Jop.

"ti

together widr-group shoppingrips and

part- in adolesccnt female bonding'
to the
,s a'group activiry, the eroticized pleasures of reading fashion magazines correlate

-rgoi"es (bikes, sport, computers); this activity,

..p.ti*"",'irrg *ith hair, dress and make-up, plap a primary
t oiUy

i;il;iy,
;..; rri;

.or,.".'*i,io, oF porn.
aprioia world.without men', and world' is often the word
The magazines ihu"
"r"
"onru-.d
('your Cosmo-wold', etc.)' Both the producers and the
invoke
they
milieu
,rrJto d.Ioib" the
it is often integral to
consumers of these magazines are presumed female. If a contributor is -maleofa tE
thesubject
sich,as
r.ne1
exceptioyl
is
only
it
,t p*p*" of*r" rrti"l-e; i. g.rr.r'1,
ryllt-,
"
their'p"gis. Th,rs, within ttris mauiarchal subculture the mainstream. is turned
whose alien
in the role ofthe mvsteri

;Jf;;;

ilin

opoi*"".

Either indiviiually

(Katrina Rolley)

Before we analyse the-apparently subrersive readings available to rhe lesbian viewer of fashion
magazincs, I want to .xplore the_Qgnlef=plea,surssffered by fashion images tq-6oi$ heterosexual

fgrlffi;6"r#6"*-r;".t."

t*rr,;r;@
;oil.; ;
*"" ,o, th" *.

pt***

of erotic images aimed specifically at women (be it ment

in mainstream adverdsing or lesbian erotic migazines) tend to ignore the fact that a form
ofsexualized female visual pleasure already existed in tf,e form ofthe fsirion image. Indeed, prior

*i*"rrr."th".*"luivcsubjeci

;;;;J;

ioay

to a socially prescribed and formative feminine

regular fliching through of magazines in which
ofalmostweryimageeffectivelytutorswomen inactivelyconsuming
$f'hat is also undeni.bl" is that sexualiry is fundamental to the
o1 as a group, the

".ra "pp""r*"..
Sex in one form or another pewades
producdon, consr-p,ioo n rd content ofthese
'agazines.
those in E//eand Mmie clairc'
especially
images,
fmhion
*rgrrrr., n rd ,hr, ,urrounds the
magazincs, articles on
mainstream
*i.]tio
,ror*
is
still'the
heterosexuality
In addition,"while
will reference
magazines
of
majoriry
the
-nd/or lesbianism are now commonplace:
on sexualiry
articles
general
their
in
g"y.orrplet,
lesbian
and
and
issues
rexAexual
readers is still
r.r",i.rrilripr. Similarly, while thc sexuality oith" -ng.rio"'s mod"ls, staffand
is often a
as t.grood*fuiline b.m.Jn hetero-and homosextrality

lr..."i

h;;;;Jtry
i;L; ;Jo,
*J

pr.a"-i.r",fyiredicated
hr,. on.,

"

gooi

.*r-pl. ba{K^t P".kr}ir

'Confessions of a Female Skirt-Chaser'

in E//a

,.I'

r
r,; .

1+;

..

:.

:1

""':liiil
,"..:tir
;' ii r'i,i .ri

;,;1i1ii il,i1il11i

Rcind Leuis dnd

Ad(dresing) the

l1trina Rolltl

(Puckrick 1994: l7).Here, the author admits that '[w]hen I see a woman whot ttrown down the
eauntlet ro convndonal cuteness in order to celebrate her own unique so<iness, I cant contain
irvsel.fl And there's no onc kind of woman who'll make me want to scratch 'n' siriff: although
fua.ri.t (re)assures the reader tJrat teeing a ffne foxy lady exploiting her potential just fills me
with button-popping pride that I m a woman, too.'
In addition to being a pervasive isue for the reader ofa fashion magazine, sexualityis also integld
to rhe producdon otih. fuhion ir4age. Despite some notable exceptions,tEE@ffi6FEEonelement of sexual atilaction benveen model and photo$epher
phot;;;p-hE;;;tilffi;;;;a;
is gencrally understood to be an important part ofmany photo shoou (rcmerpber thc fashion shoot

inih.fil*

BloutUp?):rhusJeanloupSieffsaid,ofthcphotographerPeterlindbergh(Indcpmdznt

On Sundayl3 March 1994, 1 1), '[i]t is obvious in Peter Lindbersh's photographs that he loves
women who love him back'This 'love affair' berween photographet and model means that the

Turbevilleand EllenvonUnwerth (amorgothers), all ofwhom

@lius

context

it

is also

and
number of'supermodels' who are now constructed as ovcrdy so<ual objecs ofdesirb
p"* (semi)-nakcd for male magazines, posters ahd calendars; and the way in which the
'qualiry press use fuhion spreads (especidly those featuring lingerie and swimwear) to titillate the

ffi

(male or Femalel) reader.

In

Vonen ard Fashion: A Neut LooA, Caroline Evans and MinnaThornton argue that;

Frhion imagcry likc fuhion in gcncnl, tcnds rc ba rivializcd ... F*hion akc ia rcwogc agairt is trivialkacion: it
awy wirh murdcr Exrmordinary libcmic uc mko prcciscly bccauc it is bnly fuhioo. Thc ividcncc' liq in rhc
photognphs thcmclws ,,, . Hcrc rhc outmgcou, or thc msgrosivc, particululy in rclation to 6malc smaliry, 6nd
(Ems mdThommn 1989: 82)
cwcrt cprcsion.
Bcrs

181

have produced ovettlysensual/erotic

:-

it appears drat thefashion magazines'established PlaTwithi: tlfigheterosexull mlinsueam

,t fact that-fashion imelf is understo"d ," b. b"rh ith"t",dy h.,ry.
"
spread to explore potentially
:-L-,--d.'
crsators dru uuuDu,Lr' vr
both
oou crsdLgrn
allovrs h.r
uivial -,ll**
ulvlal
inheren$y
inherendy trivir|
- auos's
might fleel
The
lesbian:oy*":
female
sexuality.
of
represenhrions
challenging
srr66rs,-uG.d
fashion phqtographs,
herselfto be rcading ugainst th. heterosexual grain in her response ro ceftain
but Iwouldsuggestti'tnot onlydo manyfashionspreads overtly andcoverdyplaywith Provocative
L.bi"r, th.mesibut rhat to some extenr the magazines themselves almost invite - indeed educate
to much of their imagery of women
- ,h. ,od", into something very close ro a lesbian response
women, or women construced as heterosexual, do themselves desire the
in general.

- ,rg",h* *j.h

women in the
woman,

desires the

who also

dyhe

rot just one that identifies with

THn LtssrAN cezr @eina Lewis)

hr
This raises the question of

one can

consciously desires.the represented woman,

wanqarlas an object ofa presumed-rc-be:male

of viewing can be contained if she remembers that the logic

^ode
posijons the desired woman as ultimately the object of male desire' on the other
offer and add to
t *a, *r"iar-"o.r.ciously lesbian viewer car rake whet the codes of the magazrne
This shifts
thar an eftra-textual knowtedge that piesumes the existence of other lesbian readers'
to be the
or/and
woman
thc.rcpresenied
herself
for
p*i.irn of either deslring
ir*
{:.*iig
" o is desired by otfier lesbian readers. Thus the social context of reading that we have

iilIt

*-por"rily llbian

"
oiu" -"g*rir"

*
*o-* it

pr*i.*fy *g""d

is

funiemental to the establishm:":

:f tht

magazines'1ogic'.

".*"|tt

t"'19-1

Individual fashion spreads might occasiondly bccomc the focus of concerned debatq but such
aftendon is rarely

seen as a serious

problem by the magazine in question and the more avant-garde

ir

nayt repres;rtation of 'generatioo X kids in

their natural 'unglamorized' environment - already commonplace wid-rin magazines such as I/a
Facc and iD - shocked Voguc's very diffcrent readership.
However Days phorographs do raise a number of interestfur-g.q,ussti-onq arcund the accentablq

ffi*.iic.
itii

H
rii

li

ffillf,ih.

s.du;6;1fi4;f

,ii

oFs""t'?l!ELi tb

on the aPParent
' \?hile media debatefocused
images' potential appeal m hdSlptg4ophles, no one questitn;A"imr-fe
Z-fT... suppisedly overrly provocative images in a magazinEffi-ed at'wornen. \7hat was the
..sporrse of the female readership to tho" i*"g"s? rUfcrc they presumed immud6G-iffi
""r.r*.d
erotic images of
course, what th"se photogrrphs dsJr.pro.rrt
"r" iot"rrtirlly
a $roman taken by anothcr woman - in this case a friend of thc model - for consumption by
womcn. In orhcr words, while rhc fcminisr and lesbian movcmen$ have made a solf-conscious,
and unacceptable tace

yo,rth

\r'hat interests me is
that is, in

Iam
to the processes of

and

bring, ot

are

lJ;;gi-p,il:..Ahetgrosoristanalysis-inkeepingwithth:seleqltylf:,tj:::*
that
of the fashion magazine--ivoJd
;; il;;;;ffidities
$e l.*U!: nl*T.:
l:
"",r*"
tl,re ofiect
t.l,b female spectator wanted only to

;ht#At""s

*as purely narcissistic in that

fa
visual pleasure wherein tJre viewer
However, I-am concerned with the double movement of a lesbian
obiect.
wants
"*r" both to be and o hatter\e
not -erely the desire for a reflection of oneself, but ofwhat the
"a.atr-rrDs
pr.,.*.. or identification wirh rhe moder and

r.Ji"a"u"i

,"Iil:ffi iil;-#:T'1d;;;,h.

;#;

IBZ .

Rciu Lcuis

'

and Katrina RollcT

Ad(dresing)thedyhe

enrire world of high fashion imagery. Further, a narcissistic desire is not simply a desirq for
identification with the object of one's own desiring gazc, but also a desire to exp*erience oneself
bSrng-lo"gcl by others (Freud 1914), So although narcissisrili-soriififris understood il;=
simply self-lovelTrCu? inikes it clear that narcissism is nor an inabiliry ro objecti$r, to engage with
an object outside of rhe selfi It refers instead to a rendency to objectifr that which reminlJoo. of
oneself or

of the self

would like to belhave bein (for example, as the self was when the
is not that pleasure is not gained-via obj.ct-lo*; objectJove exists, but
it
requires an object that has some fantasized relation/simiiariry to dre self,
Thus dre devices that wo,uld satisfy a narcissistic desire are rhose that enable the fantasy of
idenri9ing with an ideal self,and/or those which enable rhe frntasy of being desired/being I#d.
In consuming the magazine, thcn, the femalc viewer can potentially enjoy a variery of nar-cissistic
pleasures: the object of.the woman's (desirous) gaze is borh thc female'body rna ih" glr-o*
;i
the high fashionworld that transforms a fema.le gendered bodyinto an ideal. fn *riswryL. frshion
mother loved you).

as one

It

context' like dre glamorous woman on film,

ur, rs
is pcrrsur
perfect ror
for mctuHfing
facilitaring tnc
rhe sDectetor
specdatoj acuon
action necessaq,
necessarr.
for the fantasy of..rcperieacine+",.sgf *
i-ffira.femab*icwe'
d*irl"E
f'.
"V:cl+4"
in imagining herself as the modcl places herself as
u"t"*J"lF9t (since, as Freud points our,
ury.Ururg r[ oDcs Deaufy ls urE maln avenue to saustacflon open to women in an unequal world;
Freud 1 9 1 4: B8-9). But unlike film, this desire to be thc beautifirl object of the flashion magazlne
is lesbian, since the viewer who gazes it the beautifi:l model is undeniably female, unlike film "whe.e
the audience is assumed to be mixed.
This is in contrast to kura Mulvey's analysis oFthe female gaze in relation to classic Hollywood
films. For her, the fema.le gaze, in order to be activ., must becoire raruvesrite, since male characters
are seen to connol the action whilc female characters are consdtuted and presented m the camer4
as the passive recipients of a malc gazc (Mulvey 1975, lggl). Ther"forg 6, a women vicwer
who
wants a pleasure not based on a passive masochistic identificadon with the femalc charabter (which
is how narcissism would be inflected here) the only alternative is to assume a uenwestite posigioning
as male - there is no room in Mulveys formulation for a woman to make an active identificatioi
as female let alone to actively desire a woman from a female position. It is interesting that Mulvey,s
notion of uanwestism, in terms of the lesbian gaze, would adequately describe the classic Frcudian
description of the lesbian who desircs other women from a masculine position: an identifiqadon
with the father and a rejection of the inother's posidon. (As Elizabeth Vright points out, there is
no space in Freudt scenario for a lesbian co desire orhei women :rs a woman, only as a man; ,there
is nb oace of female-female desire: rather female homosexualiry is likened more precisely to male
homosexuality' [Wright 1992: 216).)
, Evans and Thornton argue that, in the c-se of the fashion magazine, the female grc at the
fuhion image can be identiffcatory andvoyewistic from a Gmale position rather or-indeed, as
wcll as - tranwesdte and masculin e (gua Mulvey): a'desire to look' that vacillates berween
'narcissistic

!y

i,.

identification and 'voyeuristic pleasurc' (Evans andThornton l9B9: 10), I would add ro rhis rhat
the identification is not just with the women in the picture ('I want to look like thaC) but with

their smte of being looked at ('I waut to be the object of the desiring gue)by afenaleviewer. This
radically re-situates John Bergert formulation, 'rhe surveyor of *o-"r, in hersclf is male: the
surveyed female', into a female suweyor ofimages ofwomen whose pleasure lics in being the object
and owner of a g;aze ttrat can only bc femalc, and that is implicitlyiesbian (Berger tgiz: qn,
I think that we can use the example of fashion imagery to pioblematize nJgatilr. pairings of
narcissism and lesbianism by emphasizing rhe pluraliry of narcissistic placings ,nd l.rbiro
idlntifications (see also Merck 1984). IFwe allow that rhe lesbian gaze is rLcissiitic based on
reflexiviry, recognition, identification and being looked at th.r, *J h"r., lesbian gaze in which
thie pleasure of looking is experiencei simulta-Ieously with rhc pleasure of being lJoked
ar by a

183

the desired object of a

woman. Indeed rhe narcissistic dcsire for identification is a desire to be
tl,re gaze-. Thus we can
deploying
of
the
pleasures
o<periencjng
lemaTe gaze at the same rime as
beactivefromafemaleposition
p"Ji."f.-Aeandlesbiangaz.-",,t.[.-4:oblect-thatcat
doublewithout tecourse to tr"tsuesd-s-. Evans andThornton algue that the fashion image is
that
both
so
languages,
autonomous
of
rwo
signification
simultaneous
for
rhe
coded, allowing
argue, instead,
transvestite/malcdine and narcissisticlfeminine positionings can be achiwed. Iwouid
that in thc case of the lesbian viewer the flashion image is multi-coded in that it allows a reciprociry
that is, an object
of pleasureTE-a-irT?56u-f5oth desiring the image and desiring to be the

ilI?-tdt

only of a narcissistic formation implies that

kind of lesbian viewer. Psychoanalytib accounts see lesbianism as a process of

desire for ,h. ,*" (implicit in the label of narcissistic) that does not allow for the differences
there is only one

s
that

irreducible to either mde or

iransvestite denotes
I hrs means not only rnat

but that the seliidentified lesbian viewer may look from a variery of borowed and invented
positionalities too'
'when we begin to map a self-consciousiy lesbian viewer
discourses of fashion a-rrd
ter onto the discourses-ot.tas
the heterosexual
that
problematize
psychoanalysis ie introdu". anorher set of identificadons
consciousness"
oftexual
and
forms
positionings
oflesbian
ofr"r.hoanalysis-Ihe+*rie.ties
lirrrrir*
to borrow , pir.r.. fro.i.a \flalkgg-pMalker 1993t lA, raise other questions: how, for examPls
,h.
react to the prospg.r
hion
as
an
so
much
that
is
desired,
as
one
image
with
the
imagery -ry-oo. involve identification
about
to
&rink
need
thatwe
It
is
here
in
itself.
desiringoflooking-and
activiry
in
the
inveimert
'pleasure ot
'pleasure
ofimterrogallon ;
the
.ckfemaletilm soectator. calls ttre
g
thatwhile the racism and sexism of mainstreaE tilms refuse

ql!.i";

;.dd;;J';"io,,slyiii.tr1i1sb*

gliT*.ffi'6

a pleasurable i
ve pleasure and power in
bn guard' can afford an
1992), In our instance, we have a form ofreptesentation that is imffiildy structured around a
fcmale narciSsistic and identficefury gun, but which can be read from a viewing position that
refirses this invitation solely to identify and retains the possibiliry of desiring, or bf experiencing
both forms of connection (simultaneouslyor in flux).Andwe know bynow that the desire- though
perhaps coded as such - is about more than just wanting a ceftain garment..Indeed, in hookk

of the images.
tside of the social
(all
may_b1oc5ugied
ofwhich
contexr, alfuxrs ur ro,Irinkrborr, rvari.ryiTGibi*viewingpositions
lesbim
within the viewing experience of any one woman). In other words' the discussion of the
as a
characterized
we
have
,hiftiig spectrtorship that can include both what
gaze denotes
but not exclusive to, women^codedas heterosexual) and,

Tfi-rqfmFfieiileEo gnition that the les.hian4gge-doe]t nql

ir*dig*r,iolS l.rbi"i'friiiiiffin,
iUoo[5 t fr.rit"t"

to use th.

*o.d

'actual',

self-consciously, self-identified, lesbian viewing positlon

(occupled bywomen conscious ofthemselves and others

as

lesbian).This latter posidonality, which

.an

=E
$

184

Reina Lcuis and

Katina Roltty

in itself never singular or fixed, relies on both the codes o[the images and rhe acknowledgment
of a communiry of lesbian readers,tThis, then, can also accommodate the significance ofvisibiliry
in rhe lived experience of lesbians without ruling out the complexities oFa fem.inist anti-fashion
inheritance. The importancc ofdress as a signifier ofscxual identiry and oflooking, as a social,
identifying z:nd yxualized activiry in the lives of lesbians, coalesce to provide a supplementary
is

pleasure to the activity of consuming [ashion magazines. fu\Talker points out, 'looking like what
you are' in terms of seif-presentation is crucial for a recognizable lesbian identity and structurally
central ro dre theoriztion of marginal identities. In this instance, looking like a lesbian means
viewing ar a lcsbim, but the demand for the imaged women to look like they are, or could bc,
lesbians remains important: not any image will do. Indeed, I wi:nder whether ir is a prerequisite
ofexercising the desiring gaze that one also idendfies wirh the idealized objecr, thar is, is it just rhe
codes of the fashion magazine which allow this actively desiring lesbian gaze, or does the lesbian
assume an identification with the idealized object even if the acknowledgement of it is suppressed?
Our srraw poll and personal predilection centred on images which seemed to offer particularly
lesbian pleasures. This is not to deny that the polysemy of all images would in theory allow lor
diverse visual pleasurcs, but that some images caught lesbian cyes more than othcrs. This is where

185

d(dresing) the fuke

.li

pan.oflesbian lives and subcultures, come to the Fore'

never
vr.rilJ6" *rr".r, il-r,"."r. in lesbians and high fashio,n is contingent - 1'ee certainly would
expand-the
might
One
continue.
of
looking
Labits
the
ago
years
rcn
this
have wrinen about
dream of rcading vogue
include an rss.ssm"ot of iow many lesbians who would never
,,r*.y,o
"rr.* 'p"""*
Poruait Gallery
National
Lee's
Sadie
of
a
copy
bought
or
walli
on
rheir
;r kd lang
the experiential eigencies oflooking

as

poster Erect2

Tnr

rMeess

Lookins butch (Figure 15'1)

Thesprea--dlrom voguehalia(ropleftandbottomrr-Bht)setsuPanarrativeofmu.ltipletransgressions
lesbian appropriation 1e have been
and/J. s,rbr"rsions*that opens it to th" sort ofselflconscious

o:+?1991
Most obviously it centres on cro:ss:dressing combined with r ngatt.Ye
GiGioil*ions of mrl. im[irsonation, these fi gures

al"*t-g

-bq1g$!g3lb.-s-!gscd

*o-I.Tf,

ffiai

reading is enhanced by t}re fact that the

i-aa

Ev-aigelista, CtristvTiulington)

ideals o[ (hetero)sexual desira

in which, according t(
butch
lftfl ftrnctions to comm!'mlcate m

as

iecognizes these women (Naomi

supermodels:.*'TT

YltT]:"::IT: ::

ments on a
desire:

*i r*.ir"J r, clearly coded ," Iianate gBngst.r, drawing on styles and gesnues asociated with
;;;J;;J,"r,;,,,,.io*org.ngp."*-i"s'*'.ag'19;.^afialnarticulal!t'::1T'-:flf..
u'1is' *r-$-rtl,i sal5ri3{!E
io";'

ilffi,#;;.i'r'"",

r*""y s.ri ]#"u.'v,

ectivirv and sEeet-smarts (perceivqd now

,?q;i;tffirip
ts;d

Thus the p resumed-

as one

lu'.
of the signtfiers nt nutcE oat-oyxe cururc ur u'"
ifringand

to-ffi

o:-':,T::'ll::i::-':-

in the
ne."es whose iaiment and pose signals.masculinity but wto,
mimic
they
mxculiniry
of
mode
the
Moreor"t'
bo. be reclognized as female'
t"", irrr,".r".,
"rrrro,
tlus activating another
is regularly, albeit cov?n$, homoeroticized in popular culture,

i"Jr""rn.rir"-"riJra-ir
i;;";,h*

set of transgressive associadons'

Gendered couples (Figure 15.2)

in an all-male ensemble, a few months
\fh";;;;" itrli" *.i g""gr..r-r.yl. cross-dressing
(top
s"me photographer (Peter Lindbergh)
b/the
left)
rpread
r",* i.t,lrrrai"g"" f"",rn.d

"filter
n*r""a ierrly g.rrd.ri.J.rpl., Bo@feiminaliry
"
gritry
i.rn"irr., iu ro* of .hf ,or"lir.d t,"li"rrn "*il,*,1 codhgs and
,r,",

sweary realism leaves these

photographer
iled (literally) and containable innocent charades. That the same
;;;.d,
editorial
different
the
by
inlitixpiained
spreads may6e
;;i;.;G; * ,.,y iiif.r.rl, f*gster
"Urg,*
at the cutting edge of
as
being
recogni'"d
*ideiy
fui;':t
policy of the wo -"g"rin.r,
a transformation to (safer)
contemporary fashiot pho,ogrrff,y' *il" e'itlttt uogu'h;tundergone
appears in Vogue ltalia
g.nd.r.dlouple
Thus,
when"the
*".,##;.d" ii.i..A?"iSBA).
as

Figure 15,1 LookingButch

Photograph: Simon Paitlc,

,ri'
i
l
:

iJ1

Ad(dresing) the dykc

Reina Leuis

aul l(zrina Rollry

Figre 15.2

Figure

(n
t

,r

I5.j

Gendtrud Co*ples Phorogmph: Simon Panlc'

Lesbian Momen* Photognph: Simon Pamlc.

Figtre 15.4

Figure 15.5

Tuinning PhorognPh; Simon Panlc'

Ourt Pleuuts?

Photogmph: Simon Pattle-

187

.88 .

Reinz

(bottom right)

as

Gatures

- which

U;fi;[."ffi

looks in

can be

contrfiI6"ihe

pale blonde passivity

should also be noted rhat both

racialized codes wirhin vlsual culture, in

dark hair and rugged

of

these instances the lesbian referens arc neidrer

butchwomen ndr gendered couples but hisrorical

wirhin accounm oflesbian history '
(Bloomsbury inter-war aristocratic leisure, Vita Sackyille-\Fest) and/or associations with sexual
deviancy within mainstream history (!(cimar Germany, Brassai's Paris, brothels, Sappho's Lesbos)o(
In these spreads, while fie womer
lesbian subtext is prompted by the combination of a lesbian evocative misc ei sclne and the
relationships b.*..1lodo *4_g,ro, enclosed spaces, physical proximiry bodily conract and
ceressesl and a sexually provocative yet challenging gaze directed ar the roader. The gaze, which is
a derermining feature in most of the spteads we havc selected, is transformed in this context by the
emphatically feminized aPPearance of the models. Unlike the butch gazes o{ Vogue ltaliawtich
sexually assess thc (female) viewer but keep her firmly excluded ftom their camaraderie, rhese
womenbothchallengetheviewer'svoyeurismandinviteherintothcpictureasa(lesbian?)panicipant.
In many of these images the look directed at rhe viewer is strongly reminiscent oflthri
by models in mainstream soft porn. Given the frequency of the brorhel seain6 where does rhis
leave the presumed heteroserual femalq viewer who, wit-hin this narrative, can surely only bc
eras, locations and figures which have a panicular signficance

t."

if"

I
.-pty.dJ

either client or colleague? But, for the lesbianviewer, the enclosed spaces and enforced
leisure pictured here raise the possibiliryoflcsbian activiry in aworld without men. Scenarioswhich
positioned

lrr,*.
".*
^igfrt
oferoticizedot*"otorecognizerheirpossiblelesbianvisuaIpleasure1
-that is
ol-i* ,r,. oossibiliry of libian ,orrlity, these images are marked by anlookambivalence
models
from
the
the
by
determined
often
is
This
spreads.
other
.l,.
i"
J;;;i;i,rr*
ihe emphasis
;;-ir-J.;;;;""d to each other: foi example, 1n Elh 1991'Best Buys' (bo_ttom lefglook
as sisterly
the

." g"i, i-"rl"g firn and wirJ, bop in sorie shots (not illusrated), this inflects
potentially challenging looks
and friendly rather drarr s.xrd; how"rr.r, the sultry, provocadve and
the images and play up the
sexualize
(Elle
bottom),
centre
1994,
lf",iirg of 'Baby Belle'
""a
proximl' in thgse images
and
physical
dress
of
simitar
use
The
p"*",i1
"on.ro,"tions.
as
asexual is destabilized by
read
this
to
any
tendency
il.*lr.o*tr,r"rs an emotional uniry, but
gaze that challenges the viewer
the
impassive
Olympi*
Manet's
Like
models.
gaze
ofthe
,ir. air"".
from the privatd
;;;p*1.."1.,,.*ingsexualirywhich, in rhese images ,works to excludc the viewer
the two women. Thus, where 'Baby Belle' is provocative but open to the

i,

Lesbian rnoments (Figure 15.3)

In

dYht

,il

of the featuret sryling-shon

which the acdve sexq4it1, qf-Che (gldd-partng

the

so tangibly informs our.(lesbian) responses

not be forgotten tl-rrt.h" crr."nt flocus on difference that
evacuate sexualiry from these'rwin images'
dran
Rather
specific..
historically
is
,"
bi r."d r, ,irt"rly rather than sexual, we can draw on the long lesbian tradition
*fri.i,

NaPoleon anc!

iH. rr"".i -ryrtli

Ad(drming)

Lmis zndlfurinaRollcy

as

offer this reading tend ro draiv on rwo rnain cukural stereolrypdEiist6iliil leisured dalliance
and commercial sexual deviance (figured here as prostitution ani/or cabaret). For the tesbianviewer,
ve-rsed in d1q subculrur4 reclamltio4 pf the brothel as a site for lesbian_ relarioJ_ffi.ffiiFeEes
offer r5gqplemcntary pleasure in which the gaze from within rh;EEonffiag" can be received
as coming 86ffi;ffin-if6il":ver, thus bypassing the negative associations ofviewing porentially
pornographic imagery.
In addition, thescperiods in historyand theirkeycharactershavebeenpublicizedand popularized
by mainstream and alternative cultural productions (such as the films orknfu, wu and wolu,
Cabarel) .t Contempdrary versions of the fuhion images associated with each of drem have acquired
an iconic status within leibian material culture. Thus, in viewing these spreads, ftibians are able
to recognize a (recendy constructed) narracivc of the lesbian pasr along with popular looks from
the lesbian oresent.

lii"o

b.*"In
ii"*., participation,

,.r.:i.*r+
-Arr.r"1of
wirii

uogar

the Dolce

lrop Lft, bo.,o." right),

&

Gabbana advert (top right) and two spreads from

pleasur lies in empathy.

present an image whose

CoxcrusroN
heterosexual and lesbian
Having analysed the woman-centred visud.pleasulel 3ffered to both
published within the recently
spreads
,h.
fashion
do
r*r,i""
J"irrr,r"n*
;;-..f, t
-*gri".r,
As
and gay lifestyle magazines (Figute 15.5) Provide any. addidonal pleasures?

"-ogrrrt'l.sbiafl
,"ii"l"f.*.a^"grrirr.-Jdi.t ,*"werebothsomewhatdisappointedt*P"*li*ialconstrainu

qr..r
f*hio" **.r

on the low.budg=..
trivialized,

magazine cannot fail ro impact,

it

seems

that fashion.is once aglin

luxury, sryling
magazines is generally
mv fashion .snread look like? fue we simply hooked on

J" rid"rho*

*ffi;gh.,@pleasures
. :-- E^--.^.,-- ,,,L^..,, .,1.{ o "oti<firino
m$slng.

in mainstrcam

il of .li"4trg3-!sbigP&**" ftq*

.h.,rrir*[

hion industry that can be avoided by the

straight aesthcdc of thc mainstream magazine are brought to
participation in fashion
the foie when the lry *.g"zin" inrites "r, overt rather than covert
rr.*iy r"cognized configuration, and buying power' o;flheglgLpg-und and

;;J"try ;;;;,i'g

.1,"

So,t

"""r"-p,i""l
ii" .rlri"A mass'

,o"i"lly"orr,i.rg.nt

,,o-inily

it.

as
ofimages ofles6ians in the-mainstream (Briscoe 1994) should be.situated
(Hennlsy 1993: 969). Lesbian chic and postmoderntheoryhave onlyhighlighted

going on: drar buying, reading and sharing fashion magazines is for many an
ofbaing a girl
part
indispensable

*hr, *"" ,lr"idy

<--

;twinning (Figure
t
__)

15.4)

Ou hcart is rlrc samc in our vi'ommt bror,

My druot! Ou body is madc rhc samc ,..
rhc powcr of my lovc, I undcsnnd you:
I know eactly what ploe you.

Notes
'readers, doa oot rule
ou. chamcrcriation of thc self-onsciou labian rcader who is awue of orher such
i' Of
"oo*.;
own smc-sq desire, burwho reads in social isolation, withodt
hcr
of
radcconsciou
of
arcmu
;",;";;d*hip
common
,oti.y of orhcr such rcadcr. Thc'I fioughr I m rhc only one who fclr like rhis' syldromc
" ""o* "r*"
eroticism in thc consmption of thc
lcsbiaro' *periencc, would oor prccludc a hcigitcncd sense of samc-*i

'!firh

rc moy

(RcndcVivicn, 1877-1909, Vivicn 1982t 73).

paeon to Sapphic samenes reminds us of other modes of lesbian coding. I(hile the issues of
butch/femme and difference have recendy been the focus ofgreat debate and controversy within
academic lesbian sildies, thc lesbian community and lesbian popular culture as a whole, it should

fhis
i

p\a

pleruc

of undcnanding rcading

-""ril.l-"s., b.; might miliarc agaiist rhc additiolnal

*l.i o,h", (ri*., *d -ooy o*) ,lrd"n. Equrlly, thoufh, thc fantxy
effecr'.
rhc only onc who fccls likc this .. ') might prcduce a similiu

of e body

an upcriencc shared
hopc I'm not

ofsimilu rcader (I

? This oainrins of wo labians sining w"i plotcrcd "ll o'er London whcn it wu uscd r the promotional
' #;;J;;;J
*r,iii,i" ", ,r'". Narional Pormit callery in 1992. Copie of *rc poster soon sold our' scc also
Sadic Lee, this rclumc'

image for thc

'

189

tq!ryw"

l;

il

Ii

'rli

.9,0 .

iri

Reina Leuis and

3
:

ri
ill

lhtrina

Rollqr

thc .Elm Ctbart, thc aly 1990s su tlrc 6mc of SaIIy Fottcr'q
ftlm Orlzndobwd on Virginia'WoolFs boolq od British tdqrhion screacd rhc sdrry oFVia Sagloill.-Woi', l.rUi*
affair in u adapmtion of Mgcl Nicolsoa's Portruit tfa Maniaga

Apur from rhc long-swding dwiant rcfercnt of

Index

References

ril

Beryct, J. Q972) Vay of fucitg Hanondworrh. Pcnguin.

Briscoc, J. (l 994 ) 'Lisbian herd rcll' , Elh, Mey, 57-60.

'i lt

Broola, R. (1982) Siglr ud \fhispcn in Bloomingdell, 2G,3.

Budcr, J. (1990) Gn&r TnilhN*Yorlc Roudcdgc
Coleridgc, N. (19881 Tbc Fuhion Cowpiuq,Iandin: Heinmam.
Erus, C. andThornrcn, M. (1989) Voma ud Fthiot: A Nru Look,Iatdon:

tl{

rll
Il]

euarct

Frcud' S. (191{) 'On Nrcissism: u inmdmiod in thc lrandarddlitin of tbc ConpLa l\yclnlogialVotk ofsignund
Fmd wrc. nd, cd. J. Smchcy, loodon: Hogarth Pres, rcI. 14.
Hcnnoqp, R. (1993)'Quccr rhoqe a-rnicw_of rhc Difcnraspmid Issrcmd!7idr{s Thc stuigbtMtnl,signs:Jurul
ofVomn in Cilun znd Socicq, l8 (4), Summcr.
hools, b, (1992) Blsk Look Racc dnd REruautio4 London: Tunuoud.
Mcrck, M, (1984) 'Diffircne ud its dironrcns', Smen,28, t.
Mu.lvry, L. (1975) 'Vsual plmurc ud nrrativc cin cmi, Smar,16,3.
(19611.'41i61r6aghts on visual plmurc md narntivc cincma, inspircd
by Duct k thc San eerrg Vidor 194e,,
Framruorh, I 5/1 6/17, Sumcr

1[

iil
i,i!
t:I
!it

"t
\lt
Irl

Mycs, K. (1982a)'f*hion'n puiod, Srza,2!, J-4.

(L982b)'Jbwuds a fcminisr ercicd, Cammuork,Z{
Nodc, J, (198fl .d Ra*ictcd Cowtry: .fuay and Sbort Storia,Iandon: Shcba,
Puclsiclq IC (1994) 'Cpofsioos of a Amalc skin<hocr', Elh,Mucb,,
Mvicn, R. (1982)'Union', The Mue of tlu Wolcx: Pom fu nctc Wiai,Tallahrscq Niaid.
ITal[cr' L.M. (1993) 'FIowto nognircalqbim: rhc culnsl politic oflmkinglikcwhetyou arc', Slgt./oamalof Woncn
in Culnre and Societl; 18, 4.
'lfrighr E. (1992) Fminin and hylnaufish: A Citical
Dictionarl, Oxford Blcl$cll.

iil

It
itI
l$

Page

ombcn in iralltr rcftr

Absre

Bqrusionis

ro illurmriom

Bdfou, GenldT5

5, 2A, 10, 37' l4O

AcadzmJTT
Achcnbach Gallcry, Frolfurt 35
ACI-LP (AIDS Codition to UnlehPorcr) 16, 113, 157

AaaSmcpm89
asthcticism 5,7, 63, 67

Agcc,!m;
agitlrop

Nw

Let IIs

Pmbc Famow

Ma4O

152 md multiplc loss 5,15948

176

.Almdcr,Juc

152

Andcmn Gdlcry, Virginia Coumonrcdrh Uoivcniry

Andochu 52
micry ualysir of 22-6
Apollo 38
Anhcim, Rudolf3l
ZB

99

Artisc Club 28
Artr Council 22

Huis,
AthawmTT
Ashton

LYlc 176

Atlrey, Ron 86, 99-1 0o, 152 Marryn

nd Sznr

91-100r

99
Autognph 172' 175

Drid:{- l7l

Baldvin,Jms

issrcs rce

mq

BlackDcath 116' 117-18 :

'Blrck Expericncs' qhibiion 171,173, 174
BlackGayGrcup 171, 172

rFillim
Blw !lpt$0

78

111;

Dbpoubh ll0-71; A Kngit Tiial 11r-121 Thc Knight:t

Morc lO9-10, ll}; Labidt Lookt l1?-; A low's Dkmncc
170; Splot Glancq: Labiat Takc Phongmpb 1o9-lo,
iZ5; Tlu VoyrorA Soilot $nd tbc Sbosghl llz
Bomnrurc Horel, Ios Aagcl* 30, 38-9
Boulon, Erncst 74-5
Boyca Gcorgc 63-4, 65
Bngg, Mclvyn 23
Brisoc, J. 189
Brcming, Osu 62, 75,76,79
Bmwniog, Robcm 7{, 75, Z

Buchum, Patrick

148

Buchmm, Robcn

74

,77-4'80;

Thc

Flah$ Schul of Pottty

Burgo,V'rllim63
13, 21,

ir a Mim25,25
Bailcy,

and Otht Phaomru ofthc Da177

amrgudism,20-l
Bron, Fmis 7,

78, 79

Boclair,Y 20, 21
Boffir,Tsa 7, 8, 109-12;'CroiGcion Cabret'

152

65

.Arru4Alrcnin

Chrle

(Doa) 49-52
Bcadslcy, Aubrcy 9l
Bclh ltwi*k1 Dncc Fondatin t Fruhnmaltl53
Baucc Ida

Blakc,

752

Aft inAmika

174

Banhe, Rolmd 21, 26; 'A Lovcr's Discousc' I l0

Budcn, Ncil 109
Baic l*iaa7, 131
BancneaAro Ccntrc, London ltll

Bkk

Dcqis 38

Amcria ftmilYAsociarion 17
maromy, md m 128

uti-Sohisa

kndon

Bcmhud, Sandn 112

Biblc, rcpruenetioro of 4,64, 67-:7O

Alma-Tadoa, Lryrcne 93
Altiwcr, Iouis 31i 'Sqrd ud Laru' 43

Anacu,J. 162
'Amalmiry ud ldutiry ahibition

Ccnuc,

Mad< 156

Bcrgcr, John t82

Bcrmys, Mmha 51

Ajwut71,t76,

Bocs,

Baudclairc,

17

,qIos s, z, s, 11, 14, 16-17, 38' 86' 98-l0l' 1l}19,

129,141,l7l,l72i fundiog of sG sq matcdals 154-6,

Alm,

BsbiruAru

19

224, l3V' Portmit

of Gcotgt Dyo

Butlc, Edmud 39
Bm+Jonc, FAwud 63, 64, 65, 67
Butoa, Paul: 'Falliog ftom Gracc' 15, 16
Buh' Pmidcnt Gorgc 148

"r,]l
lr

qlr

ri,,

*.r

:l
: