The Lesbian Stereotypes Research
was actually executed in September of 2018 by
obtaining volunteer players via Autostraddle.com
. Possible
see an infographic demonstrating the class of our own 12.3k survey respondents right here.

In month Among the many masterwork lesbian social touchstone ”
The L Keyword
,” Shane informs Dana, a closeted golf player with lamentable gaydar, any particular one of some approaches to precisely identify a lesbian is to look at her nails — “are they very long or short?” Alice uses this up with “polished or ordinary?” which amazed me personally, even at the time — it was my personal queer friends (and
Lindsay Lohan tbh
) who got me personally
into nail polish
to start with and then I’m addicted to manicures, thus predicated on my personal trial measurements of two (me and Lindsay Lohan Bisexual), I don’t know just what Alice was actually opting for there. However, judging by the apparent abnormality of my personal request at the nail salon to always have mine cut “as quick possible,” it can feel like longer fingernails tend to be more common than quick among the so-called “mainstream.”

This is not, but the way it is about the queer ladies area!

Shane Was Actually Correct: We Generally Keep All Of Our Nails Short

On all of our Lesbian Stereotypes study, 92per cent associated with 12.3k respondents reacted affirmatively toward question “do you usually maintain your fingernails short?”, such as 95% of lesbians and 95% of respondents presently in a commitment with a cis lady.

Before 5per cent people @ me personally, I wish to accept that
it really is definitely possible to outwardly stimulate and finger-fuck some one with long fingernails
. You can either end up being cautious (you really should do anyways!) or you can wear gloves or, for additional protection, cotton-balls

and

gloves. “I’ll cut them down if my spouse wants me to,” stated one survey-taker, “But if i will reconstruct an engine and construct a routine panel all without fumbling any such thing or messying upwards my perfectly well-kept fingernails then chances are you should know about that I am not attending damage anything you do not want me to.” Which is feminism, ladies!

The Long As Well As The Lacking It

Nevertheless — 200 of the 907 participants with extended nails left responses, and an important percentage of those feedback were informing myself that it is in contrast to you retain

all

of fingernails very long. Just… several. “My personal ‘fingering nails’ are small the rest are very long,” stated one, while another divulged they keep three brief additionally the various other seven flapping for the wind. “simply two on my dominant hand,” mentioned another enthusiastic finger-fucker. Just one more mentioned, “while I’m in connections i have long fingernails similarly, and quick on the other side.” Some local bisexual women stated their unique nail behavior ended up being relying on the gender of these partner, e.g., “I am less wary with duration whenever unmarried or matchmaking a dude.”

Many more noted current duration of their fingernails reflected general “laziness” or that they would reduce their particular fingernails as long as they had been drilling anyone but since they aren’t, why bother? Of these human beings, the correlation between maintaining brief fingernails and achieving lesbian intercourse look inexorably connected. It is it?

The Nails / Gender Connection

“Only cutting the fingernails when you yourself have you to definitely screw” is something — not a

super

typical thing. 92.6per cent of unmarried folks hold their unique nails short, only slightly less than the 92.8% of people that are “solitary and dating,” 92.9% who are “dating some one but not in an official connection” or perhaps the 93.03per cent who are in a monogamous relationship. Least likely to hold itty-bitty nails? Those who work in non-monogamous interactions without a primary partner — only 85.6percent would.

Issues around nail duration and lesbian gender often focus largely on the act of finger-fucking, so it is well worth pointing out that not every lesbian intimate union requires screwing someone else’s pussy together with your fingers — merely
32per cent of clothes on our very own tops/bottoms review like genital electronic penetration
, for instance.

Some people are online dating those who do not have vaginas (and yes i am aware that anal digital entrance exists and it is great but it’s in addition
not almost as popular since the front-hole tasks
), and it also does look like performing this allows you to more likely to expand your fingernails — 84per cent of survey-takers in interactions with cis guys hold their unique nails short, a full 11percent not as much as those internet dating cis women. 86per cent of the in connections with trans females hold their own fingernails quick — but some trans ladies

perform

have vaginas, so wide variety, while fascinating available, is actually also… technically pointless and inconclusive.

Brief Nail figures tend to be somewhat lower for anyone determining throughout the asexual spectrum as well — 88percent, versus 93% of
allosexuals
. In relation to intimate direction amongst allosexuals particularly, those distinguishing largely as “gay” come out on top of the short list (97.5percent), followed closely by lesbians (95percent), queers (93per cent), intimately Fluid individuals (86.4percent), bisexuals (86.3percent) and pansexuals (85.8%). Having said that, around 10percent of bi/pan people identify as “hard femme,” the sex speech likely to sport much longer nails on all of our survey, versus merely 5per cent of lesbian and 4% of gay-identified individuals mentioning “hard femme” as resonant phrase for them.

My Personal Fingernails Are Not Long, I Am The Piano Man

We’ll inform you exactly what — there are many different reasons to keep your fingernails quick than as you wish push all of them inside someone’s snatch. Including, there is at the very least 15 full orchestras accounted for about survey. Truly, I have found typing is very annoying with long fingernails, though we imagine people do it all the amount of time. By the way if you have fun with the guitar you need to have a number of your nails short but additionally several of the fingernails long, which made this concern frustrating for many fine acoustic friends.

Listed below are some in the things you told me which you keep fingernails brief for BESIDES LESBIAN SEX OKAY:

• to grasp a pen more easily
• coaching mountain climbing
• “fine describing” whenever working as a sculptor
• playing the: keyboard, violin, cello, clarinet, guitar ukelele, unspecified percussion devices
• pottery
• boxing (“forming a fist with lengthy nails is painful”)
• massage therapy
• pole moving
• visiting the beach (“I hate sand under my fingernails”)
• getting a “soup chef”
• printmaking
• being an electrician
• becoming a nurse or a vet or a midwife or else doing work in the medical industry
• playing sports
• employing horses
• “to help keep from unintentionally clawing my personal sight aside”
• typing and texting
• attending a Montesorri school
• garden
• working in the sciences “with hefty equipment, hazardous chemicals, latex gloves, etc”

Others had brief nails because nail-biting, sensory dilemmas, or just a standard preference with practically nothing anyway to do with gender, not at all!!! As Kristen Stewart’s manicurist
as soon as mentioned of Kristen Stewart back 2012
, “She doesn’t like her fingernails receive long.”

Precisely Why The Lengthy Fingernails?

Like all lesbian stereotypes, there is a large number of sensitivities around how these community norms are preserved. “I have very long phony nails because I believe more femme and it also helps manage my
dermatillomania
,” included another individual, “but various other queer women give me personally such crap for this despite them posing no danger to genitals.”

Some people carry out reflexively flinch when it comes to lengthy nails in our genital regions, and several particularly reported
this informative article
which I should tell you involved someone that had a rhinestone-tipped French manicure. In addition, brief nails is generally in the same way harmful provided that if they are perhaps not easy and submitted.

People
benefit from the sense of very long nails
and locate it fundamental with their identity. “i enjoy the way that different nails allow for different kinds of touch and sensations,” penned one. “I feel my many erotic with long decorated fingernails.”

In Closing

So far, here is the many overwhelmingly verified lesbian stereotype we’ve talked about — the chances that a queer woman or non-binary person features short fingernails are really HIGH, and for that reason Shane had been right, that I endeavor to recommend happens more frequently than numerous

L Word

cynics might disagree! However, it’s not a positive thing, which’s probably why, after watching your woman-in-question on earth has very long polished nails, Shane does

perhaps not

suggest that she actually is straight, just that she actually is “leaning towards right, yet still require more info.” Never think anything, i suppose!

Let me conclude because of this inspirational offer:

“a short while ago i obtained truly to the nail artwork trend, and had long pointy fingernails. I became always afraid of wounding the girl in was starting up with at that time. IVE LOOK AT THE POST OMG. I have them quick today, for reasons that are part laziness and component trying to signal queerness. I am very femme, and I constantly wish that my brief, unpainted fingernails will contrast along with the rest of my extremely groomed try a way that looks deliberate. God how come this a thing I spent such time considering. I have no idea everything I’m performing using my existence, let alone my nails, i must most likely try a dating app or something like that.”