The "Imitation" of Gender

I couldn't agree more with your response, Jaden. Our society setting heterosexuality as the default from which other forms of sexuality are argued to have altered has led many to believe that lesbians are not self-defined and independent individuals but rather the imitators of heterosexuality. Such belief has been reinforced so frequently that the lesbians themselves have internalized this view and identify themselves within the categories of "butch" or "femme" as you insightfully pointed out. In this kind of dichotomous thinking system, it is virtually impossible for lesbian individuals and/or communities to completely free themselves from the oppression. What is crucial in fighting against and eventually abolishing such oppression, I believe, is a shift in paradigm that allows lesbians to define and identify themselves to their liking or allows them to maybe not define themselves at all in terms of sexuality if such fits their individual desire.