The Strong Butch Female/Woman in a Patriarchal World

[mariamma]

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.

Originally Posted by Parker

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.