[Darth Denkay]

Here lately in the forums (on two sites) there has been a good bit of focus on female and male identified butches, some of it respectful and some of it not. As I've read through them, I have found myself not exactly sure which "camp" I belong in. As is so common it feels as though it is reducing gender to a binary.

Here's my take on it. I do identify as female in terms of physical sex. I use the terms male and female to specify physical sex (biological) so it goes without saying that I am female. However when it comes to gender, if I'm going to describe what type of butch I am I prefer masculine-identified to male identified. As I write this, it occurs to me that perhaps many (all?) female identified butches do identify as masculine, so maybe this isn't a useful distinction.

If I had to choose one I would go with male-identified, because in my mind that recognizes my masculine identity. I do prefer male pronouns, again because they celebrate me as a masculine individual. Still I don't want to be a man and I don't really identify as male because to me it describes sex.

Thoughts?