[Greyson]

When I was a baby butch about 19 years old, I was sitting in a park with my girlfriend in downtown Albuquerque, N.M. A group of about four teenaged, young adult cismen came along and started to make vile remarks. I told my girlfriend to run. I have an orthopedic limitation and cannot run. I can walk fast and look very intimidating.

I got shoved a bit and I kept moving. I walked into downtown traffic made it to the other side of the street hopped on a bus that happened to be pulling away from the curb. The bus driver was an African American woman and must of seen what was going on. As soon as I was on the bus she closed the doors and pulled the bus into traffic. One of the teen boys, took some sort of pipe, club he had and smashed a bus window as it was pulling away from the curb.

I got very lucky and my girlfriend was not harmed. In hindsight, we realized they did not go after my girlfriend and their remarks were all directed at me. I was a Butch that fit the nongender conforming presentation.

I have had beverages thrown out of moving cars thrown at me as I walked down the street, various looks, profanity, racial and homophobic slurs. I did get punched one time when I was the bouncer at a lesbian bar in Los Angeles. It was a straight guy that thought he should be able to come into the club and help us see the light so to speak. When he saw that I had a back up team of about four other butches ready to enlighten him, he left.

I'm in my 50's and this stuff was in the 70's. Stonewall was only a few years behind us. I did meet many of the Butches and Femmes that came before my generation. They were the ones that really took a great deal of grief to live their lives, and pave the way for us.