Quote:
Originally Posted by T4Texas
....*snipped*.....
I particularly get frustrated at articles stating that the butch/femme lifestyle is outdated and going the way of the wind. For me, butch is a state of being and that fact will not ever change no matter how much our world and community do. I can only hope there are others who feel the same.
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I want to touch on this a bit more deeply.
Again, I can't see butch or femme becoming completely outdated, but... I can see us perpetuating the stereotypes and policing to the point that butch/femme wouldn't feel like a comfortable fit to many peeps. The subtle (and often blatant) up-holding of unrealistic ideals of butch and femme permeate the spaces around B-F and can make the perimeter appear minuscule and confining.
The vein of "real/more/better/high/true - us/them" that pervades the forums isn't any more welcoming and imo, it steals the true lifes blood of diversity and pushes a narrow standard of B-F that even the vast majority reading this wouldn't come close to living up to.
I've seen many B-F people wander into B-F spaces looking and log out permanently, they don't feel what they read... they don't fit the stereotypes, (or perhaps they just don't get the mind numbing "what's the most un-butch/femme thing you do". - jokes. *insert sarcastic look*).
Again, my thoughts are
NOT about changing butch/femme... but changing the way we think and opening our minds to the diverse culture we already are and acknowledging this to become more inclusive.
I think it's more significant then ever that we check ourselves, before the age of the internet we didn't have the ability to leave such cut definitions... what we're writing, allowing and most importantly
leaving unchallenged IS becoming our recorded legacy.
*actually a lot more fun in real life*
Metro