Within the lesbian community there exists a common perception that les
bians comprise two types, ''butch,'' having more masculine characteris
tics, and ''femme,'' having more feminine characteristics. The present
study investigated the question of whether these perceptions are refl
ected in different levels of the predominantly male hormone testostero
ne. Salivatory testosterone levels and ''butch/femme'' ratings were ob
tained from 28 lesbian couples. Individuals within couples tended to b
e opposite in ''butch/femme'' ratings [intraclass r(26) = -0.77, p < 0
.001] but similar in testosterone levels [intraclass r(26) = 0.47, p <
0.01]. Also within couples, individuals with higher ''butch'' ratings
had significantly higher testosterone levels, although across all ind
ividuals as a whole (ignoring couple pairing) there was no correlation
between testosterone and ''butch/femme'' ratings. The results indicat
e that testosterone is related to ''butch/femme'' characteristics, but
only when regarded within the couple relationship.