Not long ago, Sinclair Sexsmith announced on Sugarbutch Chronicles that she was launching a new, as yet unnamed, project centering around masculine of center gender identities… from her mission statement:
to promote a greater understanding of masculine of center gender identities, expressions, and presentations, through encouraging: 1. visibility, because we feel alone; 2. solidarity, because there are many of us out there, but we don’t always communicate with each other; and 3. an elevation of the discussion, because we have a long history and lineage to explore and we don’t have to reinvent the wheel.
What is butch? How do you define butch? What do you love about it? What does it mean to you?
Here’s my contribution:
I love the word butch, it looks and feels exactly the way it should: tough, masculine, a little hard. For me, ‘butch’ evokes images of blue jeans and leather jackets, sturdy footwear and strong hands. ’Butch’ is strong, handsome, capable, ready to help, there to back up a friend or a stranger in need. And while I realize it’s not true for all who embrace the term, for me, butch is all the great things about being a woman, wrapped in the great things about being a man. My butchness is about chivalry, bravery, taking care of those I love while appreciating the strength of my partners and knowing that they are also strong enough to take care of me. My butchness despises sexism and misogyny, recognizing that I sometimes am guilty of those faults, and always looking for ways to eliminate them. My butchness embraces my masculine and feminine sides, knowing they contribute to a whole that is strong and sensitive, nurturing and protective, playful and serious.
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Your butchness is damn sexy, baby, and it fires me up and thrills me every time. I’ve learned so much from talking to you about identity, and I’ve loved watching you change and grow as your courage grew and you reached out to others. You’ve been a trail-blazer your whole life, carving out an identity that is the best of all worlds – strong and loving, brave and sensitive, moving towards integrity, a moment when you can be on the outside the person you are on the inside.
It’s a privilege to be by your side, lover. Thank you for being the guy of my dreams.
Hey thanks for commenting on my symposium blog entry, it’s always cool to get the chance to write about butch. Do you contribute to butch 360 at canihelpyousir.com too? Can’t remember lol.
It’s always interesting to read what others think and feel about their butchness. Butch wasn’t in my vocabulary when I was young (even though it was me) so it’s good to see how your perspective has expanded. Well said.
I love reading how different (and similar) butch is to each person.
Thanks for sharing
I’m late getting to this (my job is really interfering with my blogging and commenting), but I really enjoyed it. Like everyone else who has commented here, I really like getting diverse takes on what this identity means to each of us.
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“butch is all the great things about being a woman, wrapped in the great things about being a man”
I love this. My genderqueer partner just teared up a tad reading it.
(It also reminds me of things wrapped in bacon, for some reason. Tasty on both the outside and the inside.)
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“For me, ‘butch’ evokes images of blue jeans and leather jackets, sturdy footwear and strong hands. ’Butch’ is strong, handsome, capable, ready to help, there to back up a friend or a stranger in need.”
Spot on!
“I love the word butch, it looks and feels exactly the way it should: tough, masculine, a little hard. For me, ‘butch’ evokes images of blue jeans and leather jackets, sturdy footwear and strong hands. ’Butch’ is strong, handsome, capable, ready to help, there to back up a friend or a stranger in need.”
This. All of this. Love it.
Thanks for turning me on to the Symposium, you and Roxy both. These are the kinds of conversations that keep me tied in to this little corner of the blogosphere.
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Lovely kyle!
so enjoyed reading your succinct post.
Now to subscribe so as not to miss one.
“…butch is all the great things about being a woman, wrapped in the great things about being a man.”
Exactly.
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Just stumbled across this. Thanks. I was beginning to feel more misunderstood than i did 28 years ago when I first figured out that being Butch was okay.