Quote:
Originally Posted by lettertodaddy
Pardon me if this has been asked before, and please understand that I mean no ill will by it, but this is something that I have been curious about for a while now. I'm going to need a little space to work it out, so bear with me, if you don't mind. 
Typically speaking, I like woman-identified butches, meaning that she embraces those sex characteristics/biological characteristics that make her female, and while her gender presentation may be masculine, she uses feminine pronouns to refer to herself and doesn't want to be a man.
I have noticed that there are a lot of butches here -- some of whom are transitioning, some of whom are not -- who use masculine pronouns and names to identify themselves. They don't consider themselves female or women, their gender presentation and identity is male. They think of themselves as men.
My question is this: where does the butch end and the transman begin?
In my head, butch has a very specific connotation, and for me, butch = woman/female. I am not saying whether this is wrong or right, just it is how I think. I am willing to have my thought process challenged and broadened, however, because after all, butch or transman, I'm a sucker for a pretty smile and a swagger.  |
It's different for everyone, and I don't think there is a particular thing you can point to and say, "this is where butch ends and transman begins." It's important to keep in mind that who you are on the inside and your physical sex don't always match up in the hetero/cisgender-normative categories. I, for example, identify as a transguy, and not just simply male. The trans is part of who I am. There are guys who ID as male only but were born with female bodies. There are self-identified butches who have or want top surgery but still consider themselves female. There are male-ID'd butches who don't want to physically transition, and some who do but still consider themselves to also be butch. There are butches who consider BUTCH to be their gender. Gender isn't something that can be quantified and put into a spectrum where you can easily parse it into categories of trans
or butch, etc. Butch can mean different things to different people, or it can be a both/and type of thing. The best thing to do is ask each individual what their ID means to them. I don't think asking someone that is going to ruffle any feathers, so long as it is done respectfully. Asking someone their preferred pronoun instead of just assuming it is one way or the other, is respectful too.
Sorry if this isn't particularly helpful, lol. It's just complicated and there is no way of getting around that.