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femme

femme

17 8.1
A person, often in LGBTQ+ communities, who presents themselves in a way people associate with women
  • noun
  • /fɛm/
  • Jargon
: femme (jerga)
  • There's studs and there's masks, there's femmes, there's stems, there's no labels.
  • femme fatale
  • femme poète
  • femme honnête

There's studs and there's masks, there's femmes, there's stems, there's no labels.

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Examples

  • And then I think to myself, "What self-respected femme even names herself LadyTalk?"

  • You don't see her as a femme right away, maybe.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Having my wife and I both have pins that say femme, not female.

  • Will non binary trans girls femmes feel included?

  • Case asserts that the butch and femme must be taken together; they are not a split subject.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • The drag of hyper-femininity, or femme, effectively sidesteps these gender traps.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Female Photuris fireflies are leading ladies among the insect world's infamous troupe of femmes fatales.

    Academic text (2003)
  • In LGBTQ+ communities, a femme may express her identity through clothing and makeup.

  • At the event, many femmes gathered to celebrate their unique styles and experiences.

  • The panel discussion highlighted the challenges and triumphs of femme individuals in society.

Synonyms

fem
vsfemme
  • Jargon
2 9.5

A person who shows a style or behavior usually linked to women

is a neutral identity descriptor rather than an informal label

Antonyms

87 3.7

Having qualities people often connect with men, for example strength and toughness

Compounds

femme fatale
  • Literature
11 8.8

A mysterious, attractive woman who leads men into danger

How Feminine

femme
  • Jargon
17 8.1
androgynous
10 7.6
masculine
87 3.7

Surface Forms

femme singular
femmes plural

Etymology

Femme comes from the French word femme 'woman' and the Latin femina 'woman'. In modern LGBTQ+ use, a femme is a person who presents or identifies in a feminine way, which connects directly to the word's origin meaning 'woman'.