ABSTRACT
In Della Martin's postwar pulp, Twilight Girl, supporting character Violet tries to explain the butch/femme dichotomy of the lesbian community to the protagonist, Lorraine "Lon" Harris. As she describes it, lesbians in postwar America identified in one of two ways—"butch" women dressed and acted in a more masculine style while "femmes" concerned themselves with all the trappings of femininity. World War II was a watershed moment for the gay and lesbian community. Mobilizing for the world conflict transplanted an entire generation of young Americans who might otherwise have moved seamlessly from their parents' homes to a house with a husband or wife. In the postwar period, critics writing for mainstream periodicals like the New York Times or the Saturday Review largely ignored lesbian romance fiction. Lesbian writers in postwar America were certainly not blind to mainstream feminine body ideals, and it is remarkable that so many characters admit dissatisfaction with their own bodies.
