Men with boobs.

BullDog · 05-13-2010, 11:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyclopea

Thank you for your post Bit, and I appreciate your experiences shared and your points about how some male identified butches need to change pronoun usage in different contexts to negotiate comfortably and safely in a hostile world.
Just a quick note about something you said which I've enlarged in your quote above. You mentioned " ..for some Butches, what is invalidated and devalued out in the world is not their "womanness" but their masculinity"...
and I wanted to mention that for me as a woman, my butchness is part and parcel of my womanness.

It is not separate from that of which it is part, nor is it in opposition to itself. (I realize that you may have been speaking here not of butch women but of transgender or two-spirit butches ? but thought I'd use the opportunity to express something about my experience as a woman.)

What IS in opposition to my butch womanness is a social construct that denies the naturalness and authenticity of my very existence as a woman. And yet here I am. Here we all are. Perfectly natural women. I look forward to the day when all women are accepted as they are and that butch women are not neutered by the language used to describe us.

(Bit I know I veered wildly from your post and hope you don't mind me using it as a jumping off point to share my reflections).

The parts of Cyclopea's post in bold are the crux of the matter for many butch women. We are butch and women- all at the same time- the two go hand in hand. Butch does not modify woman, woman does not make us butch-lite. We are both. When we are compared to men it does feel like we are being neutered.

There is the problem of valuing male over female- the male defaults. There is also the huge gap in understanding or conceiving what woman is and can be. Butch woman is one of the myriad possibilities that broadens and stretches and trangresses what woman can be. I personally believe Femme does as well.

Butch Woman- We live it. It's not something we "identify with." She is not just a pronoun choice.

BullDog · 05-13-2010, 11:16 PM

AtLast, I've seen you referred to as He a number of times on this site and it has completely baffled me every time. You are very clear that you are a She.

AtLast · 05-13-2010, 11:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BullDog

AtLast, I've seen you referred to as He a number of times on this site and it has completely baffled me every time. You are very clear that you are a She.

Thanks, Bully. I don't get it. I guess it might be because I don't go ballistic and call the person on it in the thread, but I do send a PM asking to be called female pronouns.I also correct people in public if called sir. I want masculine women to be recognized as what we are. Dunno....

AtLast · 05-13-2010, 11:51 PM

[QUOTE=BullDog;105751]The parts of Cyclopea's post in bold are the crux of the matter for many butch women. We are butch and women- all at the same time- the two go hand in hand. Butch does not modify woman, woman does not make us butch-lite. We are both. When we are compared to men it does feel like we are being neutered.

There is the problem of valuing male over female- the male defaults. There is also the huge gap in understanding or conceiving what woman is and can be. Butch woman is one of the myriad possibilities that broadens and stretches and trangresses what woman can be. I personally believe Femme does as well.

Butch Woman- We live it. It's not something we "identify with." She is not just a pronoun choice.[/QUOTE]

No, it is not about pronouns at all and runs far deeper than an identifier. It transcends far more than I ever knew it could. This says it all, Bully. Thanks for helping me find yet another voice to sing with.

05-13-2010, 11:16 PM	#2
BullDog Infamous Member How Do You Identify?: Dominant Stone Butch Daddy Preferred Pronoun?: She Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: In A Healing Place Posts: 5,371 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 18,160 Thanked 22,640 Times in 4,463 Posts Rep Power: 21474857	AtLast, I've seen you referred to as He a number of times on this site and it has completely baffled me every time. You are very clear that you are a She. __________________ Love consists in this, that two solitudes protect and touch and greet each other. - Rainer Maria Rilke

05-13-2010, 11:51 PM	#4
AtLast Infamous Member How Do You Identify?: Woman Preferred Pronoun?: HER - SHE Relationship Status: Relating Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: CA & AZ I'm a Snowbird Posts: 5,408 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 11,826 Thanked 10,827 Times in 3,199 Posts Rep Power: 21474858	[QUOTE=BullDog;105751]The parts of Cyclopea's post in bold are the crux of the matter for many butch women. We are butch and women- all at the same time- the two go hand in hand. Butch does not modify woman, woman does not make us butch-lite. We are both. When we are compared to men it does feel like we are being neutered. There is the problem of valuing male over female- the male defaults. There is also the huge gap in understanding or conceiving what woman is and can be. Butch woman is one of the myriad possibilities that broadens and stretches and trangresses what woman can be. I personally believe Femme does as well. Butch Woman- We live it. It's not something we "identify with." She is not just a pronoun choice.[/QUOTE] No, it is not about pronouns at all and runs far deeper than an identifier. It transcends far more than I ever knew it could. This says it all, Bully. Thanks for helping me find yet another voice to sing with.