The Coming of the Young and Sexy Lesbian: The Israeli Urban Scenario

Abstract

This paper deals with the ways in which young Israeli lesbians use their bodies in order to detach themselves from both straight women and the older generation of lesbians. They make use of bodily cultural codes borrowed from the mainstream youth culture, yet modified in articulation with the lesbian subculture. The manipulation of codes brings forward the complexity of their age/gender/sexual identity as dictated by the postmodern era. The study is based on in-depth interviews with lesbians who live in an urban environment. Results indicate that young lesbians use two complementary codes. On the one hand they apply bodily codes in accordance with youth culture. Simultaneously, they assign different meanings to items culturally associated with traditional heterosexual women's sexuality. They claim the older generation to neglect physical attractiveness, out of feminist ideology; they insist that nowadays a woman can be both sexy and lesbian. Thus, mingling with heterosexual youngsters is made possible while claiming their sex-appeal is not meant to attract men.