I would like to think about (and discuss) ways of challenging the eye of the beholder; I don't believe nothing can be done, but I do think that this is a case where personal choices will never add up to a political solution.

I am also ambivalent about intent. (As a writer, I would be :) ) I tend to believe that meaning is created in dialogue between presenter and audience, and I think I chose this quote b/c I want to think about what it means when the audience has a weight of power and expectation that is so heavy it unbalances the equation. I kind of see this as the root of a lot of struggle with femme (and butch) identities and presentations.

Which is not to say that I think we shouldn't try to reclaim, redefine, subvert all of this. Just that it's tricky, and that when we feel tripped up, this may be part of why.