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"Too Pretty To Be Gay?" #MyBeautyMySay

Dove have launched a wonderful campaign #MyBeautyMySay to inspire and empower women to rise against beauty being used against them. Dove asked us* to partner up with this campaign, and we're delighted to, because we believe, like Dove, that beauty should be celebrated on our own terms, instead of our appearance being used to limit us. As a #DovePartner we want to reveal the ways in which the standards of beauty have personally affected us. Be sure to read our other blog post as part of this series: Megan's story - "What's wrong with your hand?"

Watch Dove's new short film (1.30 min)- #MyBeautyMySay. It features the unique stories of 9 real life fab women who have overcome the beauty limits placed upon them. They're all pretty bad ass!


Wegan's story - "You're too pretty to be gay!"

We've both been out and proud as lesbians from the age of 15 and 16. We have also always identified as feminine girly girls (apart from Whitney’s tomboy phase, when she went by the name Scott at 8 years old!) and never felt the need to change our appearance to fit the stereotype of what people thought a lesbian should look like. Many femmes (feminine lesbians) go through a phase where they change their appearance to try fit into the lesbian community, only to realize later that they have to be true to who they are.


We chose to confront and shatter these stereotypes through this blog, our Youtube channel and dating site. If you've been a reader of our blog for a while, you'll no doubt know that one of the reasons I set up this blog was not only to document my long distance relationship with Whitney, but to also put our faces out there to the world and show that yes, you can be gay and feminine at the same time!


Growing up as a femme, it slowly dawned on me:

1) I don’t see any other feminine gay role models out there,
2) I'm going to have to constantly come out as gay,
3) No-one will believe me when I say I’m gay.

Ah, the cloak of femme invisibility!

Going out in bars, Megan and I both got sick of hearing the continuous reactions to our coming out as lesbians... Wait for it...

"But you're too pretty to be gay!"

Seriously.

It’s such an awkward statement to hear. We don't see how 'beauty' has anything to do with being attracted to women. We get these comments from both the straight and gay community, male or female.


Megan: "Due to my feminine looks, I've had many comments from men such as it's a waste that I like women. I think my wife will disagree with you there!"

Whitney: "Due to my feminine looks, I've had many men try to argue that they can 'turn' me straight if I just give them a chance. Puh-lease. (Tip: ask if they've slept with a man to check if they're gay, that normally shuts them up!)"


Even now, when we're out and about as wife and wife, people still can’t believe we're a couple, even after showing them our wedding bands! But this just makes us all the more determined to continue with our fight for Femme Visibility.

We stand loud and proud to be two loving women in a committed relationship and it brings us great joy when we hear from lesbian/bisexual women around the world that we've helped them realize they can be feminine and gay.

Stay proud and stay you. Want to cut your hair short? Do it. Want to wear bright lipstick? Do it. Just do you. #MyBeautyMySay #MM


Make sure you watch Dove's video, and comment to say that Wegan sent you. Which of the women featured inspires you the most? We love them all, but damn Heather is pretty awesome! Feel free to share the videos to spread the message!


Read our other blog post as part of this series, Megan's story - "what’s wrong with you hand?"

We hope that you enjoyed this post and that it may help you in someway. What's your #MyBeautyMySay? Comment below! We'd love to hear! & if you loved this please, please do share it amongst your networks :)

*This blog post is part of a paid Megan Media and Dove blogging program. The opinions and ideas expressed here are our own.


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