Ellen the "butch" and Portia the "femme"

In response to Ciasullo's article, I wanted to find an example of a lesbian celebrity couple portrayed throughout mainstream media. I really liked the part of the article where Ciasullo discussed the different between the two lesbian roles of either the "butch" or the "femme." It was very interesting to read because it showed that there is not only stereotypes and social norms that we have for roles played in heterosexual couples, but now there are even stereotypes for gay people.

Ellen and Portia are an excellent representation of Ciasullo's argument because anyone who knew anything about the butch and the femme could point out who's who in these roles. Ellen, on the left, is obviously the "butch" in this lesbian relationship because she is the more masculine of the couple. She wears masculine clothes, as she is pictured in a suit and tie above, she is protective, as she is seen holding her wife close to her side, and she is tough, part of which we see because she is not smiling in this photo and also because she is a very successful woman who brings in more of the money in her and Portia's relationship, which one would argue is another dominant, masculine quality. Additionally, Portia is the "femme" because she represents the lesbian identity in a completely different manner. She is very feminine; she wears dresses, does her make up, and has long hair. Ciasullo would argue that this somewhat normalizes the heterosexual image of what it means to be female because if someone did not know Portia was a lesbian, they would never be able to tell because she dresses in society's typical image of the blonde, beautiful, heterosexual female. However, Ellen gives off many social and appearance cues that she is dominant and masculine, which are typical lesbian qualities. It's interesting to me how there still has to be a more masculine woman coupled with an extremely feminine woman in order to meet society's expectation of the typical lesbian couple. But why can't both women be equally "femme" like Portia? Why is there always an established "male" in a lesbian/gay relationship?