Butch-Femme: Theorizing Lesbian Genders (Lesbian & Gay Studies)

Eighteen years of Conservative government have attempted to erase the nomenclature of class, but failed to eradicate the social hierarchy it delineated -- some would argue this sleight of hand was intentional. The issue of class is something the lesbian and gay culture has never really confronted, yet it is something that is at work in our lives.Although likely to represent a majority in the queer subculture, working-class lesbians and gay men are notable by their/our absence from mainstream debate. There can have been few arguments over gay liberation that didn't at some point make the point that gays are perfectly 'normal' people, and that gay milkpersons, dustpersons and buspersons abound. Yet when these heroic battalions of queer milk, dust and bus persons enter the arena of the gay commercial scene, their class background disappears or is checked at the door. In fact, they are tacitly invited to apply for membership of the 'classless' bourgeoisie of the gay ghetto, a lifestyle scripted entirely by the middle classes.Hard Times is an attempt to create a space for the unheard voices of the queer working class, from as diverse as possible a mixture of ages, genders and ethnic backgrounds. Many lesbians and gays do still self-define as working class, and derive sustenance from their class roots. It is intended to debunk a number of myths about queers and class, not least the cosy fantasy of the British working class as a Passport to Pimlico theme park where queers just don't exist.