1990s

Cynthia Nixon & Christine Marinoni
Actress
Gay


Cynthia Nixon plays one of the extremely popular four women from the HBO series and movies, Sex and the City. During the six-season run of the television show, she met partner Christine and was a bit surprised with her affection towards a woman, as were fans of the show. What is interesting about their relationship is that Cynthia's fashion takes on the feminine characteristics and Christine's takes on the masculine, as shown in this photo of the couple at the Emmy's. It is a common thought that in lesbian relationships, one partner is going to be more feminine and the other more masculine, and this pop culture example shows exactly those gender roles within this relationship.





As with Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi, the media has become familiar with the gender roles in this pairing. Ellen is always found in a pantsuit while Portia typically opts for a dress or other "girly" style and maintains her long hair, unlike Ellen who keeps it above her chin channeling a more masculine appearance. In the photo on the right, we see that they have both chosen the pantsuit look, however Portia's is more revealing in the chest with a feminine drape on her blazer, three-quarter length sleeves, and high heels that are typical attributes of how females dress in our society.