[clay]

For me, I don't "march to anyone else's drumbeat! I march to my own! I don't give a darn about society's "standards" or ideas of how they may "perceive" I should act.
I am a LESBIAN, a woman, and I embrace that part of me. I do happen to enjoy wearing "sportier" clothing, and yes they are male clothing items. I wear them because it just feels right to me..it feels like ME.....I don't wear them because it is what is dictated to me by some other's ideas of whom I should be, do, act like, or dress like. I make MY own choices! I was a tomboi from as early as when I was walking....and by age 5 I was always "daddi" in playing house. Oh yes, we emulated the role models we had...but by age 23 I knew I walked a different pathway to my own inner journey..and I walked it on my own terms...no one else's.
I have never let anyone dictate how I should look, act, or be..it just is NOT negotiable. I have always tried to live by the old adage, "to thine own self, be true, then thou cannot be false to any (wo)man"
I am a rare breed of butch.... I am very tender hearted, gentle, compassionate, and very sentimental, and I wore my "heart on my sleeve" until a certain southern lady told me to roll it up in my sleeve..it was no longer available...grins.....I treat my partner as an equal in all respects. While we have dynamics we enjoy in our own personal space, again, we neither march to anyone else's drums...we make our own "rules of engagement"..allowing NO fashion police, no collar police, NO etiquette police, and No dom police to rule how we interact. But I digress.....
Superficiality has no place in my world. Someone who is out to "change" someone else will probably never be satisfied...there will most likely always be one more thing, one more way, or one more something that will make you be what they are trying to mold...
My own butchness comes from deep within my soul..it is something I was born with...I embraced that very early on in life...it isn't something learned, or studied, taught, or emulated..it resonates deep within me...it is my own drumbeat..it is that inner sanctum of where I reside....I dress for me, and me alone....I act for me, and me alone, and I love for me, and me alone...and when I find someone who "gets" me, gels with me, and we have the incredible synergies, chemistries, and dynamics that just work for us...we make our own symphony...NOT according to society or any other person..
My butchness can't be described in any particular terms, or be in a certain manner of dress, or be set by anyone else's standards...this is MY own personal aura....coming from within...it is my soul...my heart...my inner being...how I treat others...my own credo and motto, and my own outer wrapping as I so choose....I am after all, a human being..being "butch" is just one tiny part of this unique ME...it is my humaneness...my staying true to my own self...walking this journey with love, respect, and understanding of all others..and respecting their freedom to be who they are...and not trying to change the world..living within my own space...I am a woman...I am a human...I am loved...for being myself!
Excellent post, awesome feedback, and great idea for a thread, Alex! I just wanted to say I admire you...you have an awesome soul, buddy!!!