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AtLast 03-30-2010 01:37 PM

BUMP!
 
Any other thoughts? Seems like we never really got to the extent of our experiences.....

BullDog 10-10-2010 02:46 PM

Why She Matters
 
If you introduced me as she or ze, either is correct. I don’t claim the pronoun he.

I do claim the pronoun "she." My body is the site of oppression and resistance as female and as a butch lesbian. There are no borders in my embattled body between the fight against women's oppression, sexual oppression and trans oppressions.

Taking me out of the category of female skews understanding of the spectra of gender expressions and weakens the struggle for women’s liberation, as well as trans liberation and lesbian/gay/poly sexual liberation.

My life has been shaped by the apparent contradiction between my birth sex and my gender expression. And I've been shaped by being a masculine lesbian female who found community, or perhaps more accurately: communities, plural, and together against a common enemy.

- Leslie Feinberg (author of Stone Butch Blues)

http://open.salon.com/blog/robin_sne...ievement_award

AtLast 10-10-2010 03:19 PM

I'm reeling from an incident a few days ago in which my being a butch woman directly relates to my being threatened with bodily harm and threats of continued stalking.

Whenever (or, if) I feel comfortable with a discussion about it, I'll post the details. Because it involved a male POCs within a city that just has a violent rep (especially against butch women) and unfortunately, strong racial tensions, it is especially sensitive. Still processing personally.

swagger 11-11-2010 02:00 AM

atlasthome - are you ok??

AtLast 05-17-2011 04:51 AM

BUMP
 
Bumping for re-examination... hopefully.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Metropolis (Post 62424)
Revel in your strength... there's nothing weak about a female and/or women who flips a bird to the naysayers, the peer pressure, binary expectations and walks into "a mans world" every single day with masculinity and a proud swagger to boot without giving up any part of being respected as a female and/or women. This is a space is for rapping about living life openly as a female and/or woman who holds by societal standards "too much" masculinity for the world to be comfortable with... and how we deal with the good the bad and the just plain ugly that comes our way.

The world we live in already is inherently deeply mired in misogyny and sexism, fallacies of masculinity and who owns/wears the boxers and who owns/wears the panties in the arena of the sexes. Sexist innuendo based on a patriarchy's cultural misnomers that women can't be masculine, can't wear the boxers and if they do it's easier to understand if they claim man in them. When we speak and take space in the outside world and in our own communities it's often challenged, we're often put to task to explain as to reason or need, considered insubordinate radicals, wave-makers, put on the defensive, patrolled... insecurities abound.

For good reason? Perhaps... because the patriarchy has something to defend... has something to lose. Something that seemingly has to be taken as it's been proven it not going to be graciously given, and females/women are more than able, and less than willing to be bullied out of it. I find even we here in our own communities we haven't escaped it and it's even more ridiculous, frankly sad to see it played out in LBGQT, Butch Femme communities.

I think something that's not recognized is that Butch Women/Female ID face a special unique set of challenges internally in (but not just limited too) struggling to integrate who we are against binary and patriarchal teachings masculinity = man, but also outwardly/externally being recognized in for both masculinity and female/women simultaneously and seamlessly. It isn't an easy road to navigate or explain. In the real world our women-hood is challenged and we often find ourselves on the outside of women looking in, in Butch Femme communities our masculinity is challenged and we find ourselves relegated a lesser form of masculinity, put on a spectrum, and often replied to with masculine pronoun by default. Is this so bad? It is when it's shrugged off and treated as not as important an issue, not equally offensive or defended as intensely as a male being called a women... it is when it's serving to make us less visible just in it's erasure of the s in she... cyberspace and real world.

Add to that the here and there sexist covert remarks from individuals of all identity... I've heard from "I date X-ID only b/c I want to be the only one in bed with the panties" and from... "I don't identify as relate as female because I "- always played with trucks? Only wears man's clothes? Don't feel feminine? Are masculine? Take a masculine role in life/relationships? Guess what!... stand in line, me too.

Something I find a very personal affront, and again making Women or Female ID seem less visible, and seems to act as silencing, is when our experiences are dismissed as less valid or universal. That somehow because we're butches and we're all born female with masculinity, that it's been the same for XYZ... the "don't forget X's knows what it's like they used to be there too" (except when the shoes on the other foot then their/it's not the same).

I'm sorry but when I'm treated by a patriarchal society like "a woman", treated differently with inequality I don't have the defense of saying (or even thinking) don't treat me that way I'm a man, treat me like a man. It's in no way the same internal experience. I have to take it upon me as an affront on me, not that they've mistaken my gender. I'm the one who has to deal internally with living woman in a mans world, with knowing, yes I am, what they're dissing. I'm the one who'll take that head on from the trenches my entire life.

Bottom line I've looked at that and life through a female existence, a masculine woman's internal space. Yes, there is real experience shared by butches, in treatment we received at a glance from the outside, from strangers... but after that experience is internal perspective and the lens you view the world from. I won't try to claim another's personal experiences as always having viewed the world from a male view, growing up as a boy in a female body if one doesn't try to claim to have looked through my eyes as a female/woman, growing up struggling internally to first understand, then preserve and exert my identity as female when by society standards I acted/behave lived like a boy... and continual fight for my right to do so without being a man or referred to as one... to have my masculinity accepted/respected as valid as a female.

That all trickles down differently, unique perspectives, trials, stories... lived experiences... not a worse or better issue, difference. Maybe this all would be understood better if not dismissed and essentially derailed, droned over by "me too's" that are actually out of place and I often find suspect because of it's sided fashion... "I know what it's like to be you... but you don't know what it's like to be me". Frankly that's not possible.

So... this is about masculinity owned by females/women, those who own it unapologetically without attributing it to anything except who they are as strong Butch Female/Women. Many ID's, certainly some, can relate to some of the experiences here, as we can strongly to some of theirs but this space is intended to discuss our unique perspectives, and as we respect others space, ours is no less valuable and I believe necessary.

That said, I think we have a responsibility to ourselves, and to all women to stand up too, take space, speak on the non-equality in the unique spaces we occupy. If Women ID Female ID butches are treated differently it's solely because of the word women and female... and I can guarantee you the sexist and misogynistic messages aren't focused to just the butches, they extend right though out to all females and women by default.

Ok, to be clear, this is a Butch Female ID and or Butch Woman ID positive space, if you just want to say "I'm a Butch Female (ID) and I don't give a shit what anybody thinks!" say just that. It's about our minds, our bodies, unique experiences, comradery, dead seriousness (and occasional nonsensical general ridiculousness hopefully)... and for supporters and allies of our identity to speak of their own experiences.

This is taking equal space, that we and those who support us come here to find we have some, as I've heard expressed needed... this is not intended to be divisionary. I hope everybody does their best to speak from the "me - I" place and refrain from making judgments about or generalizing others identities. Call me crazy, but, in the end I believe we'd fight together better for our spaces in a homophobic misogynistic world and be a better example if we started by defending each other equally in our own spaces.

Strength and Pride.

Metropolis
*talked out (perhaps for life ; )) but will return*


BullDog 05-17-2011 09:27 AM

Thanks for the bump AtLast. If I had something articulate to say right now I would. I hope more people will re-read and participate. Thank you to Metropolis for her wise words.

*Anya* 08-04-2012 04:13 PM

This thread needed a bump, even if by a femme...

mariamma 08-04-2012 10:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jett (Post 62826)
Butches of all ID's come in all flavors, being Male or Female ID isn't an indicator of cooking skills, mechanic skills... musical preferences... musculature... facial characteristics... cuppa joe or latte... it just isn't meant to convey level of butch-ness.

It's not only dissing Female ID but it places stupid expectations on Male ID to be X Y Z... it really works against everyone.

hi to everyone reading this. I'm responding to something from 2 years ago but I believe it's salient still. Maybe this has been addressed already... the twin-souled or maybe not?
Historically, there have been women who are also like men and the men who are also like women. They are known in Native American tradition as twin spirited or twin-souled and traditionally are the spiritual leaders of the People since they are able to speak for both genders and can often commune with the Creator/Source. This is old Amazonian tradition. There have been Amazon women and transgendered since the dawn of time.
The links I posted did not mention that in 2000 years ago, Lybia was considered an Amazonian land and Lybia was known as Africa. Transgendered and genderqueer have historically been known as Shaman and the spiritual leaders of the People.
So how does a genderqueer (both) male-id or female id cope???? Bio-dudes can at times look at you and ponder, "Do I fuck or fight h/er?" and male ID or female ID can ignore the beautiful synergy that is the twinned-spirited. How does one express his and/or her soul? And how does one focus and find love in the chaos of our world?

girl_dee 08-04-2012 10:21 PM

i'd like to add that i am totally in love with how my butch partner embraces butch, woman and fierce in the world. Some of her town interactions (Firefighting for example) are male dominated and she rises above the cloud of patriarchal BS every time.

Her whole disposition is a hot and confident butch woman swagger.

mariamma 08-04-2012 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AtLast (Post 62959)
No, sexism is alive and well!

What I am amazed with is that feminism is what brought gender studies into being! I am so sick of the lack of historical knowledge and understanding of what a social movement is! feminism in its attempt to erradicate sexism, bring to light the negatives in sex-role stereotypes and fight the patriarchy, laid the foundation for transformation of the gender binary!


Ignorance continues as bliss! And thgere is no excuse for remaining ignorant here, as research into this is a click away! No one needs a degree to gain insight into the role of feminism in the development of gender enlightenment1

My you're cute when you bring out the can of whoop-ass :poc-bleah: Yes, this is a re-argument of feminist theory. However not all have studied feminism 101. A

Kobi 08-04-2012 10:30 PM



It was interesting to reread this thread. It was interesting to discover I even posted in it way back when.

It has always felt odd to me to have to quantify and qualify the person and woman I am. I never aspired to be anything other than a female and a woman.

It was very clear to me at an early age that their were distinct differences between how males and females were seen and treated in our society. Yet, there didnt seem to be words for this until I was in my early teens. When I found the womens movement, back in its infancy, it was an aha! moment for me. Finally there was something that spoke to the person and woman I was.

It bothers me, to this day, when I am referred to both within and outside of our community as a masculine woman. I dont see myself as a masculine anything. I see myself as a woman who has always aspired to things that have traditionally been seen as the perogative of the masculine members of our human species.

I never sought to be masculine or to emulate masculine. I sought to redefine and expand female and woman. I am pro-female not anti-male.

It bothers me when I am not seen as a female in my own community or when I have to qualify it. It bothers me when I address something that is uniquely female i.e. pms or hot flashes and my words are judged to be sexist. And, that the words are seen as sexist based on how my identity is perceived.

Yet, I often have to do a rethink and reassess when I see something that strikes me as sexist or perhaps disrespectful to women because of how I perceive the id of the person posting it.

And, I always have to be mindful that what I might see as disrespectful to women may not be what another woman sees as disrespectful.

Complicated stuff. To me, the patriarchy is so ingrained in us through our socialization, the messages are so insidious and so pervasive that it is very difficult to not internalize this stuff to some degree. Thus, a single event, thought, word, action can be experienced in a multitude of ways depending on who is interpreting it using what filters in what context.

I dont know if I can explain this very well but I also see patriarchy steeped in binary concepts which extend throughout much of what we experience. We can talk about breaking out of the binary but can we? Is it realistic?

We talk about a spectrum but the spectrum is based on variations within the binary i.e. male-female, masculine-feminine, butch-femme, ying-yang, femaleid-maleid. The binary is the frame of reference we work from. We can modify it but can we break free from it?



















mariamma 08-04-2012 10:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AtLast (Post 67251)

Something that strikes me here (and does in general, especially as I have been involved in the B-F community) is that we do not look at this fight in terms of MtF's as equal warriors! Or, is this simply an extension of dominance and superiority? Sure, I see that the numbers of MtF's identifying as femme are much lower, but I just can't see where we get off that we are so damn gender conscious when we fail to recognize this part of the LGBTI community. I view this as very sexist and just more of the same relegation of the female to just not as important. Interesting, as the stats (as well as they can be gathered), point to higher numbers of MtF's overall.

As much as I embrace gender theory and see it as a means to unlock so many contraints (and personally, do see myself as Other gendered, 3rd gendered in many ways, pangendered is one to explore - all of which are not transgendered what is, will remain), I still see the same old man's world around me.

As a butch, I continue to fight not having what is female about me recognized and respected (by both butches & femmes). There are threads that continue to dismiss me as female and only consider what is masculine about me. And those that measure my worth as a butch by what fucking kind of underwear I wear!!

What really makes me nuts is the acceptance of stereotypes of men as being positive masculinity! These representations don't look like the men I know, love and respect. Thank-the-fucking-Goddesses!

I wish we would get back to what we experience as butches within the context of being female. I believe there are some areas of this experience that are very unique and just as injustices/discrimination of transgendered people need to be recognized, so do these variables.

Female is devalued at large and the female butch is devalued within the queer world as well.

have to add that I also see that many TG men here are actually much more aware of sexism than quite a few female-identified butches. One thought I have about this is that maybe it is because of their transitioning and all of the varied groups, organizations, even classes they are exposed to. So many of these experiences could expose sexism.

This resonated with me mostly because I too see that MtF transgendered are treated as less than yet, they often feel more like a woman energetically than male-ID or butch women. And transwomen will often experience more violence, trauma, hurt and pain in order to be see as they truly are than bio-dames or butch women. It's such a stigma to express estrogen that some love to beat up any that express E.
And it saddens me that any feel devalued because of how they run their energy. Transgendered women and men tend to feel this way because they have the hormonal levels of the genders (or genders) they feel. I think all of medicine did a collective "D'OH!" when they saw those figures.

Parker 08-09-2012 05:38 AM

Even after sitting on it for what, 4 days, I cant seem to get past my anger at the above post telling me that transwomen "feel more like a woman" and "experience more violence" than I do as a butch woman. I'm trying to let it go because I dont want to derail the thread even further, but it just reiterates to me how, to some people, butches are just not seen as women.

Then when it comes to the pronouns and how when I correct someone who calls me he/hy online, they get pissed off at me, like I did something offensive by telling them I am a woman who prefers she; or when someone tells me they prefer butches who use he/hy because they like their butches more masculine, it reiterates to me that, to some people, butch women are still seen as less than and not masculine "enough" because we are women .... or worse, like we arent really even butches at all.

I see variations of these things almost everyday and it makes me feel invisible as a woman AND as a butch.

It's interesting how this thread is well over 2yrs old and things havent really changed - I can read Metro/Jett's and Bulldog's posts from then and they resonate within me now. There were so many posts I wanted to quote, I had to finally just stop hitting the little multi-quote button. lol

It's one thing to be misunderstood by the world at large - hell, I expect that because in their heads, masculine = male and feminine = female so to see someone like me: a butch woman who, even though I dont bind or pack, I still unintentionally pass as male 90% of the time every single day ... it just blows their fucking minds and their belief system goes all haywire on them.

Even in the lesbian community at large, butches and femmes are still sometimes seen as emulating a male/female couple from the 1950's - outdated and conforming to the binary.

So it really bothers me when that same mentality crosses over into a community like this - where butches are treated as men, even if we dont ID that way. We are expected to dress, talk, walk, and act a certain way, have sex a certain way, etc. and if we deviate from that maleness, we are considered less than.

Intellectually, I understand it is all rooted in sexism - masculinity and maleness is valued more in this patriarchal society than femininity and femaleness - but it doesnt suck any less to see it laid out in front of me day after day.


girl_dee 08-09-2012 06:09 AM

Just to add a thought of my own...
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Parker (Post 629621)
Even after sitting on it for what, 4 days, I cant seem to get past my anger at the above post telling me that transwomen "feel more like a woman" and "experience more violence" than I do as a butch woman. I'm trying to let it go because I dont want to derail the thread even further, but it just reiterates to me how, to some people, butches are just not seen as women.

Then when it comes to the pronouns and how when I correct someone who calls me he/hy online, they get pissed off at me, like I did something offensive by telling them I am a woman who prefers she; or when someone tells me they prefer butches who use he/hy because they like their butches more masculine, it reiterates to me that, to some people, butch women are still seen as less than and not masculine "enough" because we are women .... or worse, like we arent really even butches at all.

I see variations of these things almost everyday and it makes me feel invisible as a woman AND as a butch.

It's interesting how this thread is well over 2yrs old and things havent really changed - I can read Metro/Jett's and Bulldog's posts from then and they resonate within me now. There were so many posts I wanted to quote, I had to finally just stop hitting the little multi-quote button. lol

It's one thing to be misunderstood by the world at large - hell, I expect that because in their heads, masculine = male and feminine = female so to see someone like me: a butch woman who, even though I dont bind or pack, I still unintentionally pass as male 90% of the time every single day ... it just blows their fucking minds and their belief system goes all haywire on them.

Even in the lesbian community at large, butches and femmes are still sometimes seen as emulating a male/female couple from the 1950's - outdated and conforming to the binary.

So it really bothers me when that same mentality crosses over into a community like this - where butches are treated as men, even if we dont ID that way. We are expected to dress, talk, walk, and act a certain way, have sex a certain way, etc. and if we deviate from that maleness, we are considered less than.

Intellectually, I understand it is all rooted in sexism - masculinity and maleness is valued more in this patriarchal society than femininity and femaleness - but it doesnt suck any less to see it laid out in front of me day after day.



Speaking from this femmes POV it frustrates me a bit to have to (sometimes repeatedly) correct people that my partner is a she. She does not want to be a he, never has. They seem shocked at that, probably because she is butch. i want to be with a she, i am myself more comfortable with that so we fit well.

i have never wanted to emulate the life of straight folks, i don't want to look like them, i don't want to have sex like them and i don't want to be referred to as MAN/WOMAN..i don't want it to be expected that i want to be with a *male* ID'd partner.

Kobi 08-09-2012 08:28 AM



Thank you Parker for so eloquently saying what I often feel. And, I appreciate you relating this to sexism in our society.

It seems to me, we as women, have an easy time identifiying sexism as it relates to employment issues, salary issues, sexual harrassment and the like. We have a harder time seeing how our internalized sexism and misogyny affects how we see and treat other women. I suspect we also have a harder time seeing how this internatized stuff affects how we treat masculinity within this community.

In the same vein, internalized sexism and misogyny also affects our dating/mating rituals in ways that can be concerning. And, I am not referring to what happens in private between consenting adults. I am referring to what occurs in a public arena.

To me, there is no difference between a cis male publicly calling attention to his penis, wanting it worshipped, and enumerating on what he wishes to do with it, and someone in this community doing the same thing. To me, they are both examples of women being used as sex objects for sexual gratification and titillation.

Some people may like that, tho I am wondering if they like and/or are aware of what that attitude conveys. Women are not one dimensional beings. And one can easily appreciate all women are and flirt with them without being sexist about it.

Invisibility is an area we need to rethink. It seems to me, many of us, for different reasons, feel invisible to our own people. Yet rather than rally around "invisibility" as an issue for our community to grapple with, we get sidetracked by trying to decide who has the greater right to be pissy about it. The common demoninator here is "invisibility" not id's. Yet, there is a tendency to make people feel more invisible by not acknowledging what they are feeling and why they are feeling it.

Dee also raises an interesting point about how she wishes to be seen and how she chooses to partner. Makes sense to me and I applaud her independent thinking. And, I am sure, on the whole, it will be well received.

However, if I as a female butch say I will only date women who exclusively date other women because this reflects who I am and what I am all about, will it be received with the same respect?





Bleu 08-09-2012 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cajun_dee (Post 629634)
Speaking from this femmes POV it frustrates me a bit to have to (sometimes repeatedly) correct people that my partner is a she. She does not want to be a he, never has. They seem shocked at that, probably because she is butch. i want to be with a she, i am myself more comfortable with that so we fit well.

i have never wanted to emulate the life of straight folks, i don't want to look like them, i don't want to have sex like them and i don't want to be referred to as MAN/WOMAN..i don't want it to be expected that i want to be with a *male* ID'd partner.

CD,
Thank you for articulating thoughs and feelings I've had myself.

For me:
I would date a male id'd woman. One that desires too be called he, I find this more difficult for me, but would personally not limit myself by this alone.

xo,
~Bleu

BullDog 08-09-2012 08:38 AM

Transwomen most certainly do face a lot of oppression, sexism, violence etc. They often get the double whammy of being treated in some of the most extreme forms of sexism I have ever seen combined with extreme forms of transphobia. So transwomen certainly do face a lot.

So I am not comparing my situation. Yet to say that butch women do not face violence and sexism as a woman is just ridiculous. In fact just because someone uses He or Hy online doesn't mean they aren't going to out in the world either. They face the same things too.

The idea that just because someone uses the pronoun he or hy online means they are more butch and/or more masculine is a big huge joke to me and anyone who knows or meets butches in the real world will know that it isn't true. Yet it continues to get perpetuated.

Unfortunately some of us have been saying the same things for way more than 2 years.

mariamma 08-09-2012 09:42 AM

I see why you'd be upset. I was speaking in gross generalities, not of specific people. Gross generalities never apply whole to individuals. I'm sorry my comment never considered you and your experience. However I wasn't trying to speak for any individual but in generalities.
And by my comment, Transwomen feel more like women" is my observation of energy. Energetically....they feel more like women. This is my experience. I am speaking for myself. I don't expect everyone to agree with my senses or perceptions. Some feel twin-souled meaning I get a hit of both genders flowing at once towards me.
I find that many bio-dames like to compete with me. Personally, I hate to compete. It makes me feel unclean. I have yet to experience a competitive vibe with a transwoman. Maybe that's why I feel this way?? We can just get to the connecting and Sisterhood part of life and leave the petty bitchiness behind.
I understand that my comment did not take in consideration anyone elses' perspective. It wasn't my intention to include everyone HOWEVER it is not my intent or will to have my opinion accepted as gospel by anyone. IT IS NOT. It is my opinion.
Historically, the twin-souled are the shaman or spiritual leaders of the community. Meaning LGBTI for 10,000s of years have had this place of honor. We spoke with God, the spirits and healed the community and the lands. This birthright has been devalued by Patriarchy as women and E have been devalued. It is because we know, respect and understand all our hormonal expressions that we can commune with God as well as teach others how to make that connection.
In Asian martial arts, it is the practitioner who can balance Yin and Yang (E & T) who grows in wisdom and ability. Taoism (like most religions) is remarkablily similar to shamanism. Taoism probably is the most generally known version of this. Point is, we all have been turned invisible. We all have been devalued. We generally have this experience as bio-dames but we all have this in common. Don't let my version or perspective dictate you or your experience. I know your experience will be different from mine. I look for universalities and seek connection thru those universalities. But that's just how I roll.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Parker (Post 629621)
Even after sitting on it for what, 4 days, I cant seem to get past my anger at the above post telling me that transwomen "feel more like a woman" and "experience more violence" than I do as a butch woman. I'm trying to let it go because I dont want to derail the thread even further, but it just reiterates to me how, to some people, butches are just not seen as women.

Then when it comes to the pronouns and how when I correct someone who calls me he/hy online, they get pissed off at me, like I did something offensive by telling them I am a woman who prefers she; or when someone tells me they prefer butches who use he/hy because they like their butches more masculine, it reiterates to me that, to some people, butch women are still seen as less than and not masculine "enough" because we are women .... or worse, like we arent really even butches at all.

I see variations of these things almost everyday and it makes me feel invisible as a woman AND as a butch.

It's interesting how this thread is well over 2yrs old and things havent really changed - I can read Metro/Jett's and Bulldog's posts from then and they resonate within me now. There were so many posts I wanted to quote, I had to finally just stop hitting the little multi-quote button. lol

It's one thing to be misunderstood by the world at large - hell, I expect that because in their heads, masculine = male and feminine = female so to see someone like me: a butch woman who, even though I dont bind or pack, I still unintentionally pass as male 90% of the time every single day ... it just blows their fucking minds and their belief system goes all haywire on them.

Even in the lesbian community at large, butches and femmes are still sometimes seen as emulating a male/female couple from the 1950's - outdated and conforming to the binary.

So it really bothers me when that same mentality crosses over into a community like this - where butches are treated as men, even if we dont ID that way. We are expected to dress, talk, walk, and act a certain way, have sex a certain way, etc. and if we deviate from that maleness, we are considered less than.

Intellectually, I understand it is all rooted in sexism - masculinity and maleness is valued more in this patriarchal society than femininity and femaleness - but it doesnt suck any less to see it laid out in front of me day after day.



Kobi 08-09-2012 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mariamma (Post 629712)
I see why you'd be upset. I was speaking in gross generalities, not of specific people. Gross generalities never apply whole to individuals. I'm sorry my comment never considered you and your experience. However I wasn't trying to speak for any individual but in generalities.
And by my comment, Transwomen feel more like women" is my observation of energy. Energetically....they feel more like women. This is my experience. I am speaking for myself. I don't expect everyone to agree with my senses or perceptions. Some feel twin-souled meaning I get a hit of both genders flowing at once towards me.
I find that many bio-dames like to compete with me. Personally, I hate to compete. It makes me feel unclean. I have yet to experience a competitive vibe with a transwoman. Maybe that's why I feel this way?? We can just get to the connecting and Sisterhood part of life and leave the petty bitchiness behind.
I understand that my comment did not take in consideration anyone elses' perspective. It wasn't my intention to include everyone HOWEVER it is not my intent or will to have my opinion accepted as gospel by anyone. IT IS NOT. It is my opinion.
Historically, the twin-souled are the shaman or spiritual leaders of the community. Meaning LGBTI for 10,000s of years have had this place of honor. We spoke with God, the spirits and healed the community and the lands. This birthright has been devalued by Patriarchy as women and E have been devalued. It is because we know, respect and understand all our hormonal expressions that we can commune with God as well as teach others how to make that connection.
In Asian martial arts, it is the practitioner who can balance Yin and Yang (E & T) who grows in wisdom and ability. Taoism (like most religions) is remarkablily similar to shamanism. Taoism probably is the most generally known version of this. Point is, we all have been turned invisible. We all have been devalued. We generally have this experience as bio-dames but we all have this in common. Don't let my version or perspective dictate you or your experience. I know your experience will be different from mine. I look for universalities and seek connection thru those universalities. But that's just how I roll.



Ok this post is making me twitch and not in a good way.

First of all, I, for one, do not appreciate being referred to a bio-dame. I am female and a woman. "Dame" has a regal connotation in British history. In American history, it has more of a derogatory connotation. Perhaps you need to figure that into the not generalizing you mentioned.

Secondly, this is a thread for the experiences of butch women in a patriarchal society and I do not wish to derail that into a different focus.

However, you did mention something that does fit into the current conversation and perhaps is a good example of how we internalize our patriarchal socialization and how it colors our perceptions of other people.

You mentioned your energy work, and how the energy of a transwoman feels different to you. You said your interpretation of this difference is because "bio-dames" compete with you and it make you feel unclean. Yet, you dont experience the same competition with a transwoman. And somehow, you have deduced that because of this, transwoman energy feels more "woman-like" to you.

Has it occured to you that you have been socialized since birth to feel this exact thing? Has it occured to you that females are socialized to compete against other females? Has it occured to you that women have been socialized to feel unclean and all the variations that come with unclean?

Has it occured to you that transwomen you are speaking about have not been socialized since birth in the same way? And, perhaps, the differences you are feeling and your interpretation of them is the differences in socialization being filtered thru your own internalized sexism and misogyny?

Has it occured to you that this internalization extends to the words we use, the concepts we believe, and the pronouncements we make which all serve to reinforce the patriarchy and screw other women in the process?


BullDog 08-09-2012 11:53 AM

Why would someone say some women feel more like women than others? Why pit women against women? Besides, some transwomen are butches. Transwomen are just as diverse in their energy, gender and sexuality as any other group of people.

mariamma 08-09-2012 12:20 PM

I did derail the thread into my own personal trip. That wasn't cool. For this reason primarily I will bow out. I am not butch. This isn't a thread for me to opine in, and then derail the process with my personal interpretation.
I apologize.
Peace and Blessings
Quote:

Originally Posted by Kobi (Post 629759)

Ok this post is making me twitch and not in a good way.

First of all, I, for one, do not appreciate being referred to a bio-dame. I am female and a woman. "Dame" has a regal connotation in British history. In American history, it has more of a derogatory connotation. Perhaps you need to figure that into the not generalizing you mentioned.

Secondly, this is a thread for the experiences of butch women in a patriarchal society and I do not wish to derail that into a different focus.

However, you did mention something that does fit into the current conversation and perhaps is a good example of how we internalize our patriarchal socialization and how it colors our perceptions of other people.

You mentioned your energy work, and how the energy of a transwoman feels different to you. You said your interpretation of this difference is because "bio-dames" compete with you and it make you feel unclean. Yet, you dont experience the same competition with a transwoman. And somehow, you have deduced that because of this, transwoman energy feels more "woman-like" to you.

Has it occured to you that you have been socialized since birth to feel this exact thing? Has it occured to you that females are socialized to compete against other females? Has it occured to you that women have been socialized to feel unclean and all the variations that come with unclean?

Has it occured to you that transwomen you are speaking about have not been socialized since birth in the same way? And, perhaps, the differences you are feeling and your interpretation of them is the differences in socialization being filtered thru your own internalized sexism and misogyny?

Has it occured to you that this internalization extends to the words we use, the concepts we believe, and the pronouncements we make which all serve to reinforce the patriarchy and screw other women in the process?



Parker 08-09-2012 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kobi (Post 629689)
<snip>

It seems to me, we as women, have an easy time identifiying sexism as it relates to employment issues, salary issues, sexual harrassment and the like. We have a harder time seeing how our internalized sexism and misogyny affects how we see and treat other women. I suspect we also have a harder time seeing how this internatized stuff affects how we treat masculinity within this community.

In the same vein, internalized sexism and misogyny also affects our dating/mating rituals in ways that can be concerning. And, I am not referring to what happens in private between consenting adults. I am referring to what occurs in a public arena.

<snip>

Invisibility is an area we need to rethink. It seems to me, many of us, for different reasons, feel invisible to our own people. Yet rather than rally around "invisibility" as an issue for our community to grapple with, we get sidetracked by trying to decide who has the greater right to be pissy about it. The common demoninator here is "invisibility" not id's. Yet, there is a tendency to make people feel more invisible by not acknowledging what they are feeling and why they are feeling it.

<snip>

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kobi (Post 629759)
<snip>

Secondly, this is a thread for the experiences of butch women in a patriarchal society and I do not wish to derail that into a different focus.

However, you did mention something that does fit into the current conversation and perhaps is a good example of how we internalize our patriarchal socialization and how it colors our perceptions of other people.

<snip>

Yeah, that shit made me twitch too, so I am moving on .....

The internalized stuff is huge because we dont always see it - and even when it is pointed out to us, we still dont always see it .... sometimes, even just having it pointed out to us can make us angry because it goes against what we have been conditioned to believe for how ever long we've been around.

That internalized stuff comes from our conditioning that masculine and maleness is valued more than femininity and femaleness. From birth, girls are ingrained with this idea - we are treated differently than boys, we are given different toys, told what games to and not to play, etc. and we are shown that in most, if not all ways, boys are more valued.

Hell, when I was 16 years old, my parents got me an old 1972 Pontiac LaManns in banana yellow - and I loved the hell out of that car lol. A year and a half later, when my little brother turned 16, they took the car from me and gave it to him, telling me that "boys need cars" and that if I wanted to get a ride somewhere, I should ask a boy or find a boy with a car to date.

This wasnt in the 1950s - this was in the mid-late 1980s - but I do understand that a lot of what they said and felt came from their own upbringing in the 50s.

From an early age until I left home - and even after I left home and was in the Navy (and dont get me started on how the Navy treated/treats women with what jobs we can and cannot do!) - I was taught by my parents who I was supposed to be and that I would never be as good as a boy or man; that being male was the top of the pyramid. Hell, all the way through college and well into being in the Navy, all my mom wanted for me was to find a nice rich man to take care of me - a sugar daddy - because, apparently, I couldnt take care of myself.

I have to wonder if that's part of why I almost transitioned when I was in my early 20s. I never wanted to be a man, but so many people already thought I was a man and so many others were telling me I should transition that I thought that maybe I should just get it over with (I still, to this day, have people telling me I should transition). I started to hate the woman in me because, according to what I had learned so far, she was holding me back, keeping me from certain jobs, clothing, sports, etc.

It took me such a long time to realize it was society that was fucked up, not me.


I wanted to add that I am not in any way trying to say that I dont like men or male id butches or that I think they are bad or somehow wrong - I am not trying to imply that I have had it worse off than anyone else - I dont play the oppression olympics .... we all face violence, we all feel invisible at one time or another, and we all can have feeling of being devalued.

I am just speaking about my experiences as a butch woman walking through this patriarchal world.

Kobi 08-09-2012 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Parker (Post 629826)


I wanted to add that I am not in any way trying to say that I dont like men or male id butches or that I think they are bad or somehow wrong - I am not trying to imply that I have had it worse off than anyone else - I dont play the oppression olympics .... we all face violence, we all feel invisible at one time or another, and we all can have feeling of being devalued.

I am just speaking about my experiences as a butch woman walking through this patriarchal world.



This made me start thinking.....did you ever notice how we, as women, have been socialized to put qualifiers in the things we say?

We should be able to just speak what we experience or feel and it should stand on its own as a reflection of our experience.

Yet, we are taught to be mindful of how something we say or feel might impact on others and to acknowledge it and address it in some way.

Parker 08-09-2012 03:04 PM

This is true .... I have to wonder if that stretches into the realm of labels, for lack of a better term. I rarely ever hear gay men - the gay men in my experience and my circles (to add another qualifier lol) - talk about being male or female ID'd - save for the occasional butch or femme reference, nor do I hear a lot of my gay men friends speak in terms of cis- this or that, for them, it is straight up gay, straight, men, women.


But thb, I learned some of it on-line as well - because if we were irl, you could see my face, hear my tone and inflections and you would know that I was speaking for and about me, while not diminishing others; you would know that 99% of my sarcasm and humor is said and meant with zero malice because that's just how I am - a sarcastic smartass who means no harm.

On-line though, my sarcasm and humor can sometimes come across as asshole-ish behavior and I have had people in the past take posts like that and think I was trying to diminish others by speaking of my experiences; so have I learned to add a lot of :) and :winky: and sometimes, like above, just flat out say that I wasnt trying to marginalize others.

girl_dee 08-09-2012 07:44 PM

[QUOTE=Kobi;629689][COLOR="Navy"]

<snip>
Dee also raises an interesting point about how she wishes to be seen and how she chooses to partner. Makes sense to me and I applaud her independent thinking. And, I am sure, on the whole, it will be well received.

However, if I as a female butch say I will only date women who exclusively date other women because this reflects who I am and what I am all about, will it be received with the same respect?




</snip>


Thanks Kobi and i didn't even realize i was in the butch zone, but i do love this sort of thread because i want to learn about others.

Kobi, i imagine your statement is the same as me saying for ME, i only wish to date women who do not want to become a transman or pass as a man. i feel like that reflects who i am and what i am all about. Lot's of wonderful people in the world, but i am only attracted to certain traits... i imagine some may find that offensive?

CherylNYC 08-09-2012 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Parker (Post 629826)
Yeah, that shit made me twitch too, so I am moving on .....

The internalized stuff is huge because we dont always see it - and even when it is pointed out to us, we still dont always see it .... sometimes, even just having it pointed out to us can make us angry because it goes against what we have been conditioned to believe for how ever long we've been around.

That internalized stuff comes from our conditioning that masculine and maleness is valued more than femininity and femaleness. From birth, girls are ingrained with this idea - we are treated differently than boys, we are given different toys, told what games to and not to play, etc. and we are shown that in most, if not all ways, boys are more valued.

Hell, when I was 16 years old, my parents got me an old 1972 Pontiac LaManns in banana yellow - and I loved the hell out of that car lol. A year and a half later, when my little brother turned 16, they took the car from me and gave it to him, telling me that "boys need cars" and that if I wanted to get a ride somewhere, I should ask a boy or find a boy with a car to date.

This wasnt in the 1950s - this was in the mid-late 1980s - but I do understand that a lot of what they said and felt came from their own upbringing in the 50s.

From an early age until I left home - and even after I left home and was in the Navy (and dont get me started on how the Navy treated/treats women with what jobs we can and cannot do!) - I was taught by my parents who I was supposed to be and that I would never be as good as a boy or man; that being male was the top of the pyramid. Hell, all the way through college and well into being in the Navy, all my mom wanted for me was to find a nice rich man to take care of me - a sugar daddy - because, apparently, I couldnt take care of myself.

I have to wonder if that's part of why I almost transitioned when I was in my early 20s. I never wanted to be a man, but so many people already thought I was a man and so many others were telling me I should transition that I thought that maybe I should just get it over with (I still, to this day, have people telling me I should transition). I started to hate the woman in me because, according to what I had learned so far, she was holding me back, keeping me from certain jobs, clothing, sports, etc.

It took me such a long time to realize it was society that was fucked up, not me.



[I]I wanted to add that I am not in any way trying to say that I dont like men or male id butches or that I think they are bad or somehow wrong - I am not trying to imply that I have had it worse off than anyone else - I dont play the oppression olympics .... we all face violence, we all feel invisible at one time or another, and we all can have feeling of being devalued. [/I]

I am just speaking about my experiences as a butch woman walking through this patriarchal world.

Exactly! I highlighted the part of your post that seems to never be spoken about or aknowledged in our community. It's still percieved to be soooo much cooler to be a man than it is to be a woman. Butches are sometimes pressured into transitioning, and it's all about misogyny. I've seen/heard trans and male IDed people from within and without the bf community exert that pressure, and it makes me sick. I never let it pass. I'm an old school lesbian feminist, and I will NEVER allow anyone to get away with telling a woman that she ought to become a man.

Parker, I'm so sorry that you've had to hear that, and that you continue to hear it. I also highlighted your disclaimer. I understand that you have good reason to feel that a disclaimer must be appended. I wish we could simply say, "We don't want to be men" without having to sooth the possibly outraged males who may perceive our matter-of-fact statements of female ID as an insult to themselves.

The phenomenon bears a strong resemblance to the responses I've read here on this site whenever men are criticized. Five of the first six responses to a linked article written by a trans guy about the incredibly offensive things men say to each other about women when they think they are amongst themselves essentially said, "You shouldn't criticize men because women are terrible." Yes, I know that's somewhat reductive, but that was the strong, clear message I took away from that exchange.

I was treated similarly to you within my family. My parents told my sister and I that we would have to get scholarships to college, but that they would find a way to pay for my brother's education. He would be responsible for supporting a family, after all. (Those conversations happened in the 1970's, and he has not, as yet, supported anyone at all.) We have a long way to go before we can eradicate the internalized misogyny that was and is inflicted on us.

CherylNYC 08-09-2012 10:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kobi (Post 629848)

This made me start thinking.....did you ever notice how we, as women, have been socialized to put qualifiers in the things we say?

We should be able to just speak what we experience or feel and it should stand on its own as a reflection of our experience.

Yet, we are taught to be mindful of how something we say or feel might impact on others and to acknowledge it and address it in some way.

Whoops. I was busy writing my own missive while Kobi beat me to the punch with her far more succinct post.

Kobi 08-10-2012 01:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Parker (Post 629826)
Yeah, that shit made me twitch too, so I am moving on .....

The internalized stuff is huge because we dont always see it - and even when it is pointed out to us, we still dont always see it .... sometimes, even just having it pointed out to us can make us angry because it goes against what we have been conditioned to believe for how ever long we've been around.

That internalized stuff comes from our conditioning that masculine and maleness is valued more than femininity and femaleness. From birth, girls are ingrained with this idea - we are treated differently than boys, we are given different toys, told what games to and not to play, etc. and we are shown that in most, if not all ways, boys are more valued.

Hell, when I was 16 years old, my parents got me an old 1972 Pontiac LaManns in banana yellow - and I loved the hell out of that car lol. A year and a half later, when my little brother turned 16, they took the car from me and gave it to him, telling me that "boys need cars" and that if I wanted to get a ride somewhere, I should ask a boy or find a boy with a car to date.

This wasnt in the 1950s - this was in the mid-late 1980s - but I do understand that a lot of what they said and felt came from their own upbringing in the 50s.

From an early age until I left home - and even after I left home and was in the Navy (and dont get me started on how the Navy treated/treats women with what jobs we can and cannot do!) - I was taught by my parents who I was supposed to be and that I would never be as good as a boy or man; that being male was the top of the pyramid. Hell, all the way through college and well into being in the Navy, all my mom wanted for me was to find a nice rich man to take care of me - a sugar daddy - because, apparently, I couldnt take care of myself.

I have to wonder if that's part of why I almost transitioned when I was in my early 20s. I never wanted to be a man, but so many people already thought I was a man and so many others were telling me I should transition that I thought that maybe I should just get it over with (I still, to this day, have people telling me I should transition). I started to hate the woman in me because, according to what I had learned so far, she was holding me back, keeping me from certain jobs, clothing, sports, etc.

It took me such a long time to realize it was society that was fucked up, not me.


I wanted to add that I am not in any way trying to say that I dont like men or male id butches or that I think they are bad or somehow wrong - I am not trying to imply that I have had it worse off than anyone else - I dont play the oppression olympics .... we all face violence, we all feel invisible at one time or another, and we all can have feeling of being devalued.

I am just speaking about my experiences as a butch woman walking through this patriarchal world.


I spent a lot of time mulling this over today and having flashbacks to less pleasant times.

Having grown up in a very traditional Italian family, the message was very clear.....girls/females/women behavior, dress, think, aspire to, prefer, defer, etc certain things. I very much felt female but the traditions didnt fit who I was, how I behaved, how I thought, what I aspired to, or how I preferred to dress.

Heck, I even remember the day my brother told me I didnt wash my hands like a girl. There was a girls only way of washing hands? Really? I remember watching people wash their hands after that. I didnt have the words for it back then, but today I can say it was really weird to me that people ascribed masculine and feminine to something as mundane as handwashing. Little did I know how deep and far reaching that dichotomy ran.

There was never a disconnect inside of me, or between my internal self and my body. There was a disconnect between the internal me and the external world. Society was saying my way of being female was being interpreted as being masculine/male-like and that was not a good thing.

When I came out as a young adult, once again, what felt perfectly normal and natural to me was framed into something else because I didnt fit the norm of what being a woman was about back then. So, who I was was transformed into, "I was a lesbian because I wanted to be a man." Sigh.

Throughout my life, I have tried on different labels hoping to find one that reflects the totality of who I am and is perceived in the way I wish it to be. Considering our community invents more and more labels to reflect its growing diversity, you would think I could find one that works, or at least one that I dont have to continuously explain or qualify.

Nowadays, I just prefer to say I am a female/woman who expresses my femaleness/womanness my way. Simple, yes? Nah.

Regardless of what I say or feel, others still experience me and treat me from within their own frame of reference/experience which does not always match mine.

People stuff is really tricky shit. Society stuff is really tricky shit. A lot of the isms have become so institutionalized, and so internalized that it is sometimes different to distinguish between what might be an ism vs a preference, or an ism vs humor, or malicious intent vs naivete, or cultural differences vs ???.

Very, very, tricky stuff.


girl_dee 08-10-2012 06:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Parker (Post 629858)
This is true .... I have to wonder if that stretches into the realm of labels, for lack of a better term. I rarely ever hear gay men - the gay men in my experience and my circles (to add another qualifier lol) - talk about being male or female ID'd - save for the occasional butch or femme reference, nor do I hear a lot of my gay men friends speak in terms of cis- this or that, for them, it is straight up gay, straight, men, women.


But thb, I learned some of it on-line as well - because if we were irl, you could see my face, hear my tone and inflections and you would know that I was speaking for and about me, while not diminishing others; you would know that 99% of my sarcasm and humor is said and meant with zero malice because that's just how I am - a sarcastic smartass who means no harm.

On-line though, my sarcasm and humor can sometimes come across as asshole-ish behavior and I have had people in the past take posts like that and think I was trying to diminish others by speaking of my experiences; so have I learned to add a lot of :) and :winky: and sometimes, like above, just flat out say that I wasnt trying to marginalize others.


Bouncing into the online subject, While being online in Virtual Reality for a while (Second Life to be exact) and on these forums i found that many butches use the *he* pronouns online, then in real life they use *she* pronouns. (In real life i find this confusing). i chatted with a few of them when told me they are really more comfortable with *she* pronouns but felt that it was expected that if they were butch they were male ID'd. My Syr is the only one that i can remember that insisted on *she* and constantly correcting all of us that she is a she.

i don't feel one pronoun is better than another but i do feel that some people do, and there is some expectation that butch = male, that all butches should want to transition... even in our own community.

Glenn 08-10-2012 09:29 AM

[QUOTE=Kobi;630097][COLOR="Navy"]
.

Having grown up in a very traditional Italian family, the message was very clear.....girls/females/women behavior, dress, think, aspire to, prefer, defer, etc certain things. I very much felt female but the traditions didnt fit who I was, how I behaved, how I thought, what I aspired to, or how I preferred to dress.


Kobi; A lot of traditional Italian families were also matriarchal led such as mine . Mine nurtured my strength as a butch, gave me independence, did'nt make me or my partner of thirty plus years do or think anything we did'nt want too. Please do not give this thread the wrong impression about what traditional Italian families are or are not concerning butches and others. Thank-You

Kobi 08-10-2012 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cajun_dee (Post 630115)
Bouncing into the online subject, While being online in Virtual Reality for a while (Second Life to be exact) and on these forums i found that many butches use the *he* pronouns online, then in real life they use *she* pronouns. (In real life i find this confusing). i chatted with a few of them when told me they are really more comfortable with *she* pronouns but felt that it was expected that if they were butch they were male ID'd. My Syr is the only one that i can remember that insisted on *she* and constantly correcting all of us that she is a she.

i don't feel one pronoun is better than another but i do feel that some people do, and there is some expectation that butch = male, that all butches should want to transition... even in our own community.


I found this very interesting.

In real life, I cant think of anyone who used any pronoun but *she*. Then again, I dont remember there being another option either.

Online, things seem to be a little different.

Perhaps there is more exploration of identities, more experimentation to see if something else works better, more opportunity to be exposed to new and different ways of conceptualizing oneself, more variety to find the niche that defines the you you know yourself to be.

Perhaps there is some degree of peer pressure involved in our effort to fit in, be accepted, and attract the type of person we are looking to attract. We define, refine, sometimes even find ourselves in relation to others. So others have the potential to have a profound effect on us.

Perhaps, on some level, if you identify as masculine or are perceived as masculine, there is the recognition of the privilege that comes with it. It can be very seductive, very powerful, and very empowering.

Interesting to think about.


Kobi 08-10-2012 11:13 AM

[quote=Glenn;630220]
Quote:

Originally Posted by Kobi (Post 630097)
[COLOR="Navy"]
.

Having grown up in a very traditional Italian family, the message was very clear.....girls/females/women behavior, dress, think, aspire to, prefer, defer, etc certain things. I very much felt female but the traditions didnt fit who I was, how I behaved, how I thought, what I aspired to, or how I preferred to dress.


Kobi; A lot of traditional Italian families were also matriarchal led such as mine . Mine nurtured my strength as a butch, gave me independence, did'nt make me or my partner of thirty plus years do or think anything we did'nt want too. Please do not give this thread the wrong impression about what traditional Italian families are or are not concerning butches and others. Thank-You


Glenn, we had different experiences.

In the 1950's, my traditional Italian experience was very patriarchal, very male, very old fashioned male-female rigidly defined roles, expectations, and even laws. I had many exceptional female role models who did exceptional things under extraordinary circumstances but it saddened me to know they didnt see themselves as exceptional women. It saddened me that they didnt value the other females in their lives in the way I expected. It saddened me when my maternal great grandmother who owned a successful farm which was run by her and her 2 unmarried daughters, left those daughters destitute and homeless when she died because she left the farm to her sons.

I am speaking to my experience. Perhaps you might wish to revisit my earlier post which read:

"This made me start thinking.....did you ever notice how we, as women, have been socialized to put qualifiers in the things we say?

We should be able to just speak what we experience or feel and it should stand on its own as a reflection of our experience.

Yet, we are taught to be mindful of how something we say or feel might impact on others and to acknowledge it and address it in some way."

You are welcome and encouraged to speak from your experience. I would love to hear how a strong matriarchal led family shaped the person you are.

Thank you :)




Parker 08-10-2012 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kobi (Post 630250)

Perhaps, on some level, if you identify as masculine or are perceived as masculine, there is the recognition of the privilege that comes with it. It can be very seductive, very powerful, and very empowering.

I feel like you are mixing up "masculine" and "male" here, but I dont want to assume - are they synonyms for you?

I am masculine - I just also happen to be a woman at the same time and I, personally, dont believe the two are mutually exclusive.



Quote:

Originally Posted by Cajun_dee (Post 630115)
Bouncing into the online subject, While being online in Virtual Reality for a while (Second Life to be exact) and on these forums i found that many butches use the *he* pronouns online, then in real life they use *she* pronouns. (In real life i find this confusing). i chatted with a few of them when told me they are really more comfortable with *she* pronouns but felt that it was expected that if they were butch they were male ID'd. My Syr is the only one that i can remember that insisted on *she* and constantly correcting all of us that she is a she.

i don't feel one pronoun is better than another but i do feel that some people do, and there is some expectation that butch = male, that all butches should want to transition... even in our own community.

I have seen this as well - I have been told the same thing, re: expectations of being male id; and I have also been told that that is how some people tell the difference between a femme and a butch - the former is she and the latter is he.

I feel like that's bullshit, but what can you do - each person has to do right by and for themselves, not by and for me! :winky:

Personally, I've never been he/hy - on-line or irl.

BullDog 08-10-2012 01:42 PM

The idea that you call femmes she and butches he so you can tell them apart is such bullshit. What do you do when you have two friends named Terry, call one by a different name? No. It seems like a lot of anxiety- like heaven forbid a butch might be talking in chat and someone makes the fatal mistake of thinking it was a femme typing. Oh my. Talk about the worst crime in the world.

BullDog 08-10-2012 02:21 PM

On the positive side of things, despite all the online b.s. and some out in the real world too, being a butch woman who does embrace masculinity is very freeing and allows me to fully be myself. I do not in any way feel that masculinity is owned by men. I also see men embracing feminine aspects so women don't own femininity either. I am not bound to follow any rules or be a man or male to be the butch and masculine person that I am. I have my own role models and do not live to anyone's expectations other than my own. I do not fit in with the stereotype of woman, but I am just as much a woman- just a different type. Embracing masculinity is very natural to me and seeing myself as a woman makes me feel connected to women who have gone before me throughout history as well as now. I experience life as a woman. To disassociate from that reality for me personally would be a disservice to myself. So I am happy being me.

Kobi 08-10-2012 05:05 PM

Originally Posted by Kobi

Perhaps, on some level, if you identify as masculine or are perceived as masculine, there is the recognition of the privilege that comes with it. It can be very seductive, very powerful, and very empowering.


Quote:

Originally Posted by Parker (Post 630306)
I feel like you are mixing up "masculine" and "male" here, but I dont want to assume - are they synonyms for you?

I am masculine - I just also happen to be a woman at the same time and I, personally, dont believe the two are mutually exclusive.


I was using masculine in a non-gender specific way.

Nadeest 08-12-2012 08:40 AM

I have tended to use' hy' here, for butches, as it seems to be the way that it works. I am perfectly comfortable using 'she', though. For me, it is whatever the person prefers. For some, the pronouns 'ze' and 'hir' work better, and I am fine with that, as well.

*Anya* 08-12-2012 09:14 AM

I tend to never use pronouns online as unless someone specifies what they prefer, as I am always afraid I will call them the wrong pronoun and they will get either pissed or feel hurt.

Coming from the old-school lesbian world, where butches still called themselves "her" and "she", it has been an education and at times, has felt like a minefield; to come online and find that over the last 10-years or so, that things had changed.

I had never heard, in the offline world, any of the new prounouns. I still really do not but the online world frequently is different than the outside world.

I still have a hard time using them and in interpersonal interactions online, occasionally "slip" without meaning to.

Change is difficult.

Toughy 08-12-2012 08:02 PM

I'm still twitching ...........however I really dislike when folks come in and stir the pot and then leave the thread for one excuse or another.........when the real reason is someone(s) challenged what they said and pointed out the 'isms' in what was said.

bio-dames.........laughin...........that's definitely a new one for me....

Nomad 08-20-2012 07:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toughy (Post 631534)
I'm still twitching ...........however I really dislike when folks come in and stir the pot and then leave the thread for one excuse or another.........when the real reason is someone(s) challenged what they said and pointed out the 'isms' in what was said.

bio-dames.........laughin...........that's definitely a new one for me....

oh G*d thank you for saying this!

my laughter was the derisive snort variety but that's just because i'm a schmuck.
:twitch: <----- think i'ma change my "how do you identify" answer to "bio-dame" face


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