The phrase "chapstick lesbian" refers to a lesbian woman who does not wear make-up or follow stereotypes of female beauty and style, preferring a more unisex approach to fashion. A take on the older phrase "lipstick lesbian", it gained some currency following an episode of the television show Ellen, circa 1997. In the show, Ellen DeGeneres's character, asked by her parents whether a certain woman is a "dipstick lesbian," explains that the term is "lipstick lesbian," and comments that "I would be a chapstick lesbian." Lesbian describes a homosexual woman. ... A lipstick lesbian is a traditionally feminine homosexual woman. ... Ellen (originally titled These Friends of Mine for the first season) was a U.S. television sitcom which ran on the ABC network from 1994 to 1998. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Ellen DeGeneres, on her talk show. ...

"Chapstick" lesbians are often considered soft butch. A soft butch is a lesbian that exhibits some stereotypical butch lesbian traits, but not to the extreme of an actual butch lesbian. ...

A distinction is sometimes drawn between the phrases "Lipstick lesbian" and "chapstick lesbian" and the older phrases "butch" and "femme" by suggesting that the former phrases simply refer to appearance, whereas the latter imply mutual attraction of the two types. Butch and femme are terms often used in the lesbian and gay subcultures to describe a persons approximate adherence to traditional masculine and feminine gender roles respectively, within a same-sex relationship, or to describe an individual generally. ...