I’m sharing a new series from my archives to celebrate my past and expand my story that I’m sharing here on Transmanifesto.
This is an old post (with a new edit) from my first personal blog, THE BUTCHELOR c. 2008-2010~ISH
Much love, more soon,
Aaron
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Defining: Butch
Written by the butchelor
Oh, where to even begin? “Butch” — it’s a word I’ve used to describe myself, and I certainly see it as a descriptor for my target audience here at The Butchelor (duh).
But what does it mean to BE butch?
WHO are the butches I’m talking to and about here on the blog?
Of course, I can’t define the word “butch“ for everyone or their personal gender identity – In fact, I’m completely over the idea of labels, in general.
I only choose to play on this one because it holds a special place and meaning for me, personally…
Which is funny and ironic and all sorts of other things because— as I continue to explore my own gender variance and labels – I realize I’m probably more genderqueer or transgender than I ever was a butch lesbian—not really.
It IS a label I wear and have worn proudly for awhile.
It’s the land where I come from.
It’s part of me. It’s part of who I am. I was even voted Ms. Butch at a local butch/femme lesbian bar way back, c.2000!!
What can I say? I was quite a beauty king. 😉
I know there’s been some controversy and conversation around grouping transguys and genderqueer folks with woman-identified butch lesbians or just boyish cis straight girls, but let’s face it – many of us have identified as a more masculine-leaning, female-bodied person at some point, along our unique personal life paths…
And that is the butch identity I want to celebrate.
It’s a different sort of masculinity. New flavors of bi-gendered. Non-gendered. X-gendered. Gender-fucking. Non-binary transmen and genderqueer bears, fairy butches, and legions of lesbros.
It’s not my intention to place everyone in a singular, butchy-bubble with my word choices here.
I’m just speaking for myself and using a silly play on words to address a group of people who, really, have NO real label. They swim in the in-between and love blurring the categorize that divide us as expressive and creative human beings.
They break through gender boxes–while society, as a whole continually forces them to chose M or F. They stand firmly in the fluidity of their feminine masculinity.
They continue rebelling against the masses to build new bridges and overpasses to new words and worlds of change.
Like sexuality, gender is far from being a simple binary of black or white. Feminine or masculine.
This website, whether you identify as a burly, butch or a femme-y femme, is for ALL of us who are living and loving inside and outside of life’s beautiful gray areas and the spectrums of possibility in-between.