femmetofemmeanthology

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Thank you for contributing and for your support of the project. Submissions are rolling in for Femme to Femme and we are super excited to sort through them and process the magic existing between words, sentences, photos and illustrations. We will be reaching to writers and artists as soon as possible.

Due to overwhelming requests for extensions, we have decided to extend the call for submissions, again, until November 1, 2016. We wholeheartedly believe that good work takes time and we are committed to working with writers and artists to produce the highest quality work for this anthology. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us at any time.

- Femme to Femme Editorial Team

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“Femme to Femme is a call to action and an invitation towards an embrace of that which we have been taught to disregard; a celebration of the personal, political, and transformative self.” — Jamal Lewis, Editor

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an original poem by jamal lewis

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FEMME is a new photography project that is ongoing and evolving. Through a series of photographs and interviews, this project hopes to challenge and reconfigure the commonly accepted definition of Femme. In queer culture, Femmes are defined only by their proximity to something, be it masculine of center folks, cisnormative perceptions of gender, or eurocentric standards of beauty. Stated simply, Femmes are typically recognized only when they are conventionally pretty, white, cisgender women whose femininity is seen in stark contrast to normative perceptions of queer women, namely butches, bois, and other masculine of center women. This definition is very limiting, erasing a large number of Femme folks, including Femmes of color and Trans* and gender nonconforming Femmes, and fails to recognize the agency of Femmes to self identify.By showcasing the diversity and variety of Femme identified folks, this project defies the current static definition of Femme in favor of a more pluralistic understanding of the identity. Femmes come in all different shapes and sizes, in a variety shades and colors, and in a wide range of genders. Additionally, the performance and embodiment of Femme looks different for each person—there is no one correct way to be Femme. The current parameters of Femme are very limiting and do not allow for these variations. Those who don’t meet the stringent requirements of the cultural definition of Femme are effectively erased from the narrative and rendered invisible.Most importantly, this project creates a space for Femmes to publicly declare what Femme means to them in their own words. Too often, Femmes are only seen as a reaction to Masculine of Center folks, or in hetero/cisnormative understandings of gender and relationships. Femme becomes a label that is imposed on people, rather than an identity that individuals claim out of their own agency. By allowing Femmes, especially those who are already excluded from the standard definition, to self identify as such and have agency over what that means is very powerful. It challenges the preconceived notions and limitations of who and what Femme is.This project is ongoing and hopes to capture as many Femme identified folks as possible. If you are interested in participating or would like more information about the project, please contact the artist at sal@salmunoz.com.

http://www.salmunoz.com/femme.html

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“My existence necessitates a re-imagining of ontological and epistemological understandings of time and space. I identify as femme partially because masculinity has given me nothing in terms of validation and self-actualization.” – Eddie Ndopu

Read more here: http://www.blackgirldangerous.org/2013/01/201312musings-from-a-queercrip-femme-man-of-color/

Edward (Eddie) Ndopu is a black (dis) abled queer femme Afro-politan living in Ottawa, Ontario. Named by the Mail and Guardian Newspaper as one of their Top 200 Young South Africans, he is a social critic, anti-oppression practitioner, consultant, writer and scholar. Please consider supporting Eddie and other QTPOC writers, artists, cutural workers out here creating to live, and Black Girl Dangerous, too.

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Femme to Femme is a literary non-fiction,varied anthology seeking to explore femme* identity in the 20th and21st century through poetry, prose, essays, stories/narratives,illustration/art and photography. It was inspired by conversation with young femme* folks of color and Joseph Beam’s 1991 collection of writings edited byEssex Hemphill: Brother to Brother: New Writings by Black Gay Men.

Submissions are now being accepted until November 1, 2015.

[femmetofemmeanthology]

Femme to Femme is a literary non-fiction,varied anthology seeking to explore femme* identity in the 20th and 21st century through poetry, prose, essays, stories/narratives, illustration/art and photography. It was inspired by conversation with young femme* folks of color and Joseph Beam’s 1991 collection of writings edited by Essex Hemphill: Brother to Brother: New Writings by Black Gay Men.

Submussions are now being accepted until November 1, 2015.

[femmetofemmeanthology]

Femme to Femme is a literary non-fiction,varied anthology seeking to explore femme* identity in the 20th and 21st century through poetry, prose, essays, stories/narratives, illustration/art and photography. It was inspired by conversation with young femme* folks of color and Joseph Beam’s 1991 collection of writings edited by Essex Hemphill: Brother to Brother: New Writings by Black Gay Men.

Submussions are now being accepted until November 1, 2015. 

[femmetofemmeanthology]

Call for Submissions: Femme to Femme: A Varied Anthology of Works by Black and Brown Femmes

Femme to Femme is a literary non-fiction,varied anthology seeking to explore femme* identity in the 20th and21st century through poetry, prose, essays, stories/narratives,illustration/art and photography. It was inspired by conversation with youngfemme* folks of color and Joseph Beam's 1991 collection of writings edited byEssex Hemphill: Brother to Brother: New Writings by Black Gay Men.

Beam’s Brother toBrother gave me voice and a vision of self-making andself-determination in my search of media that examined and politicized race, class, identity, sexuality, culture and relationships. It also motivated me to further explore my own ideas of self, and to imagine and create media that reflects all parts of me.

Likewise, Femme to Femme seeks to challenge public discourse about and around femmeness because it often has a white, classed, cis-gender woman center, and is only discussed in relationship to masculinity – never each other. It is a project that prioritizes the lives, needs, and desires of femmes of all lived experiences (sans white); It is a call to action and celebration of the personal, political, and transformative self; It seeks to build upon legacies of black and brown queer, feminist trouble makers, and literary and artistic geniuses; It seeks to breathe new life into our current queer and trans political movement looking for submissions from femme* self-identified folks, including: gay/queer, bi, asexual, pansexual, trans*, gender non-conforming, and others along the gender and sexual orientation spectrums.

I am specifically seeking stories, letters, narratives, critical analyses and essays, illustrations, and photography capturing the essence and nuanced expressions of black and brown femme* personhood across gendered and embodied differences; How you interpret these is up to you. I welcome first-person narratives (of your experiences and relationships to other femme folks -- mom, sister, grandma, auntie, girlfriend, partner, etc), photos essays, remembrances, reviews of significant literature or films, anything that you’d like to add to the conversation of what femmeness means to you, and how definitions and expectations of it is changing…or not.

Topics might include:

 - Re-imagining the Combahee River Collective: A Manifesto for Black and Brown Femmes

- Black Feminism in the Age of Social Media and Beyonce

- Forging Femme Selves and Identities

- Gender Hurts Everybody: On Gender Liberation and The Carceral State

- Trans, Cis, and Gender Non-Conforming/Non-Binary Femmes in Conversation

-  Remembering The Fabulous Sylvester

- Memoir of A Sissy Boy/Girl

- Butch Queens, Femme Queens, and Everything in Between: A Look at [Femme] Performance in the House-Ballroom Scene

- Femme to Femme Solidarity, Sex, and Desire

- Biographical and critical treatments of Assotto Saint, Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera

- The Politics of Respect, Consent and Bodies

- A Dedication to Mark Aguhar

Note: Submissions are now being accepted until November 1, 2015. Submit to: femmetofemmeproject@gmail.com. 

 Sincerely,

 Jamal Lewis, Editor

Femme to Femme: A Varied Anthology of Works by Black and Brown Femmes

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femme strike

we demand compensation for every kiss you stole from our lips with your lies

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this is an original poem by alok vaid-menon posted with permission

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femmespiration: sylvester james

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femmespiration: assotto saint

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love this!

Yes we date;as in two mtf Trans who are attracted to each other regardless of genitalia or social norms👭

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femmespiration: jazmine sullivan

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Thank you for every share, like and nice comment this year. It’s an honor to have inspired you. I appreciate your support and I hope it continues in 2015. Thank you to fatleopard and m76photo for capturing these moments. See you next year!

Checkout my blog for all of these looks!

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Black femmes taking over this white washed conference in Denver.

[they/them pronouns] *do not delete the caption*

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femmespiration

"A BACKSTAGE MOMENT AT CHROMAT / BY NICK BLUMENTHAL"