Femme Mafia

Meet FM Board Member Josie

2008-10-30T00:25:00.000-07:00

My experience with being femme is a little different than some of the other board members. I'm older. I rarely present as High Femme anymore. I don't wear makeup everyday. I must confess, between juggling being a new mom with finishing nursing school, I rarely wear it at all these days.

As time has passed, some of the girly rituals of my youth have fallen by the wayside. I still delight in wearing feminine accessories like filigree dangle earrings, and I'm still perceived as "too feminine" to be a dyke, but I sometimes joke that I've become a "low-maintenance femme". But that's okay. I'm femme not because of what I wear or how I wear it, but because of an internal femme identity that is reflected in how I interact with the world.

I still like to play with my presentation, with my gender performance allowing me to express myself in ever varying ways, reflecting different aspects of who I am. I love to wear costumes or challenge boundaries, and I revel in exploring the outer reaches of my femininity. I want Femme Mafia to be an environment where I can queer femininity to the limits one weekend, and then bask in the glow of shared femme energy while being a low-maintenance femme the next. I want us to provide spaces where we can be as femme as we want, when we want, and how we want.

As a Femme Mafia board member, I'll focus on helping this community grow both outwards, to reach new members, and inwards, to embrace old ones.

Meet FM Donna Debby

2008-10-24T07:10:00.001-07:00

My feminine identity is a culmination of all of the cultures in my life, Cuban, Middle Eastern, Jewish and Southern. That means that passion runs through my blood, I can strut in 4 inch heels all night, dance til the sun comes up, and throw down some food like no body's business. Not to mention being protective of all of the people I love. I'm not afraid to break a nail or "get latin" on someone if they're messing with someone I love. I don't confuse being femme with being catty. I love other femmes, other women in general, but if you can talk "girl", then I want to know you. I love getting dressed to the nines... glitter, heels, fishnets, big gaudy accessories, perfume, a full face of makeup, and did I mention GLITTER. It's an honor for me to be Co-Donna of the Atlanta Femme Mafia. I do not take this position lightly and my first and foremost priority to find out what other femmes in the community want to see and do. I want to know what's important to you. Making you happy will inevitably make me happy. I want you to feel welcome here. Femme Mafia is about you and your needs. I'm here to make sure as much of it as possible comes true.

Meet FM Board Member Amy

2008-10-23T06:58:00.000-07:00

My outward appearance has always been an interpretation of my inner feelings. This need to present myself in a unique way started at a very young age. When all of the kids at school were wearing leggings, I was wearing leggings with a skating leotard and combat boots. In high school, when my classmates talked about The Great Gatsby, I was dressed like Daisy. I’ve always liked deliberately taking what is accepted and pushing it just a bit further. And, it is this consistent desire and need to express myself past the point of most other feminine identified persons that truly defines High Femme for me. It is taking what is typically accepted as feminine, and subverting it in such a way that it is unexpected, deliberate, and obvious. And, for me, my desire to do all of that is so profound that I wouldn’t be myself without it. Yet, I wasn’t always comfortable being unabashedly high femme and queer until I saw another high femme. This is mostly because even with all of the deliberate subversion, femme identities are still somewhat subtle and harder to recognize. For instance, I thought I was the only high femme (I didn’t know the terminology at the time) queer in existence when I was a teenager. My gender identity was my own dirty secret; and that was rather unfortunate. Which is why I am so proud to be a part of the Femme Mafia; this group has so much to offer all femmes, but especially it offers a community for femmes to learn more about themselves in a safe and welcoming environment.

Meet FM Donna Jen

2008-10-23T06:46:00.000-07:00

To be femme is to cause a stir when you walk into a room; creating second glances so strong it gives someone whiplash. It is the epitome of the womanly essence; the highest feminine order of a female driven world. It is realizing that the sweetest drop of strawberry nectar doesn't come close to the effect of just one of my kisses. It is knowing every one of my curves and appreciating them even if I'm the only one to do so. It is dressing up for the girls that I call my sisters because they'll notice the glittery belt that matches my earrings for the evening. It is projecting my Queerness in a pretty package with one hell of a bow on top. It is admiring other femmes for having the guts to wear a skirt out to the dyke bar, and then inviting them to join me for a drink. It is a never ending battle to describe my sexuality as fluid and that I have the right to love whomever I want without having to cut my hair and join the softball team. It is wearing war paint everyday that sparkles on my eyelids and glistens my lips with a lusty sheen. It is simply and unapologetically me.

Meet FM Board Member Amanda

2008-10-22T05:44:00.001-07:00

Being a Southern Femme means more than just being girly. It's about your attitude and how you present yourself to others. I feel that I exude this attitude no matter if I am wearing jeans and a t-shirt or a bombshell outfit. I do love the girly things.. makeup, pearls, pink, purple etc... I just love being a Southern Femme. I now have the opportunity to use my skills for the greater good of Femme Mafia by taking a position on the board. I am organizing Femme Mafia events that serve the GLBTQ community as well as the Atlanta community.