[aishah]

i'm grateful for all of the discussion here...it has all been really thought-provoking.

i love butches. i love reading other femmes' reflections on what they love about butches...as much as i love reading different butches write about what they love about femmes.

i'm personally hyperconscious of how i talk about butch identity, because it isn't my identity, and because, like femme identity, it is complex and multifaceted...and different people embody/experience/express it differently.

i know many people who would hate to be called "girl"...hell, i am not butch and there are only very specific instances where i am okay with being called "girl." outside of those instances it makes me feel insulted and infantilized. i know my partner would find it really triggering and upsetting for people to call him "girl."

at the same time...i respect that others feel differently. hell...that is one of the things i love most about butch identity...that y'all express it in so many different and amazing and hot ways.