Chloe and Olivia: Lesbian Findings From History and The Arts

For the ladies…Dolce & Gabbana, Fall 2011

motozulli — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 21:38:38 +0000

I’ll skip the long introduction and get to the good stuff:

Dolce & Gabbana, Fall 2011

This image is nothing new. Helmut Newton did it in French Vogue in 1979:

Helmut Newton, 1979

And more recently I posted this one from French Vogue, 2005.

But I’m not complaining. It’s all good. More, please! I’m talking to you, late-to-the-game American Vogue.

For the boys…Dolce & Gabbana, Fall 2011

motozulli — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 21:36:16 +0000

We’ll be back to our regular sapphic posts tomorrow, and with a lustily genderfucking ad to share. Today though, I have to bring your attention to what could be a trend. Maybe I got too excited too soon, but take a look at this ad from Dolce & Gabbana:

Dolce & Gabbana, Fall 2011

Holy crap that’s homoerotic. (You’ll see the female counterpart to this ad tomorrow.) The second best thing about this ad (after it being made in the first place) is that for once we see a whole lot of male skin. And some body hair. No Ken-doll Abercrombie & Fitch pretty boys for this ad campaign. Not that I lust after male body hair, but you know, it’s the principle of the thing.

The women in tomorrow’s ad, sadly, are fully clothed.

This could have been an isolated incident, until I passed this massive ad in Macy’s window on my morning commute:

Johnny Weir for MAC, 2011

Before I knew who this was, my first thought was “for goodness sakes, that’s a twinky model they got for their new ad campaign.” But it’s Johnny Weir, the gender-fabulous (and all-around fabulous) skater. Check out this genius. Vogue!

On Becoming A Woman, 1958

motozulli — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 20:28:15 +0000

“The violent crush which almost every teen-age girl experiences toward some older woman is usually not worth worrying about. If the crush translates itself into a desire for physical contact with a member of the same sex, it is time to ask guidance from a physician, minister, or trained counselor… You may be approached by a respected person in the community, someone you trust and love- and the discovery that such a person can be homosexual is a tremendous shock….Best solution in such a case is to avoid any chance of being alone with the person…”

Page 52, On Becoming A Woman, Mary McGee Williams and Irene Kane, 1958

Tumblr Alert: Vintage Lesbians

motozulli — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 03:08:09 +0000

I just wanted to share this excellent…tumblr (?) that I came across whilst Googling. Who runs this? Who is the delightful person to bring us this image:

When you get this ping, Vintage Lesbian Tumblr, comment me. We must be friends.

Hommage a Nusch, Man Ray 1937

motozulli — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 23:46:12 +0000

This sketch is by Man Ray, dated 1937. According to Shocking! The Art and Fashion of Elsa Schiaparelli, it is based on a photograph he took of Paul Eluard‘s wife, Nusch, with Sonia Mosse. This one, I think. There is another series of photographs of Nusch with a woman named Ady Fidelin that you should definitely go search for. p 131

"Hommage a Nusch," Man Ray, 1937

Lucky Strike “I choose”…

motozulli — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 21:10:54 +0000

“I choose”…to smoke and kiss girls, as long as you’re watching, Hot Guy at the Bar.

Are most smokers of Lucky Strikes women? Is this one of those homoerotic ads aimed at straight women who subconsciously want to attract straight men? For the record, I should state here that I Do Not Mind this phenomenon. In fact, should I ever find myself at a straight bar (rare), the straight girls making out is usually one of the few redeeming aspects of the evening. Carry on, Straight Girls.

I picked this up at some bar, but I’m confused about where because the fine print is in Spanish. Let’s assume it was in NYC.

Baigneuses, Paul Tillier c. 1890s

motozulli — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 20:35:07 +0000

I had higher hopes for Tell Me, Pretty Maiden: The Victorian and Edwardian Nude, because if we’ve learned nothing so far we have at least learned that male artists love to put two naked women together in pictures and call it art. Sometimes they even pretend that it’s classical mythology and call it Jupiter and Callisto.

Alas, Tell Me, Pretty Maiden is pretty much devoid of any interesting old images. The only one coming close is this Baigneuses by Paul Tiller. The book dates it to the 1890s, but I’m not so sure about that. If any fellow costume historians are reading this, feel free to suggest an alternate date.

I have mixed feelings about classing images of women bathing together as homoerotic. On the one hand- women used to bathe together all the time, often out of necessity, and certainly innocently before Krafft-Ebing got to them. On the other hand, the women in many of these images look like they’ve been having more fun than just splashing around in the water.

French Vogue, April 2005

motozulli — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 20:19:59 +0000

I don’t know who gave me this image. Sorry, source. But my file says that is comes from French Vogue, April 2005.

Tricornes and Gaydar

motozulli — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 19:40:49 +0000

It must have been tough to be a sapphist back before…oh wait, it’s still difficult to tell which ladies like the ladies.

Unlike gay men, who have the bandana in the back pocket or an earring in the right ear, lesbians don’t have any such visible sign. Sure, asymmetrical rumpled hair is a hint, as is the ubiquitous wifebeater (tank tops, for all you PCers). But those are not clear signs, since they abound in straight girl style as well.

I’m getting off on a tangent. The point of this post is to introduce my next mini-project, which is to comb my book collection for images of 1910s-1940s women in tricorne hats.

My beloved mentor at MCNY has a theory that the Tricorne was an early sign that the wearer had sapphic leanings, or at the very least was enough of a bohémien to consider a little experimentation.

To start, this fashion photograph from Harper’s Bazaar, Dec 1939. This era was a time of notoriously wacky hats, but I intend to be thorough in my search so I am posting it even though I don’t think the photographer, Francois Kollar, had any intention of making a lesbian statement.

Harpers Bazaar, December 1939

The First One, 1965

motozulli — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 19:26:01 +0000

Perhaps not the first, but according to my professor of Fashion Photography, this was an early image that caused a minor kerfuffle because of its implied homoeroticism.

The image was by Bob Richardson, and was published in Harper’s Bazaar October 1965, p. 209. The caption read: “Daisy chains of diamonds, swaying in a net sweater that drapes in a cowl over the bodice of a white satin dress. Diamond flares, silver streaked, twinkling on a gauzy sweater atop a white dress. Both dresses by Mollie Parnis, in Staron Silk.”

"Giggling" by Bob Richardson, 1965