Editing Butch

[[File:Butch Femme Society by David Shankbone.jpg|thumb|350px|Lesbian Butch/Femme Society march in New York City's Gay Pride Parade (2007).]]
'''Butch''' is an [[LGBTQ|LGBTQ+]] [[masculine]] [[gender expression]] or [[gender identity]]. While many people who identify as butch use the term in reference to their gender expression, others claim it as a [[nonbinary]] identity in itself, notably [[Leslie Feinberg]], who defined butch as a gender neither male nor female. Butch is an identity that emerged in [[lesbian]] and bisexual culture in the 1940s, before there was a stark distinction in the community between types of women who were attracted to other women. Many lesbians have complicated relationships with gender, and may identify as simply butch. Butch is an identity that can be held by people of various queer sexual orientations and can belong to both cisgender and trans individuals.<ref name="Bashan">{{Cite web |title=What Does It Mean To Be Butch? |author=Bashan, Frankie |work=Little Gay Book |date=2020 |access-date=29 September 2020 |url= https://www.littlegaybook.com/what-it-means-to-be-butch/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230507112437/https://littlegaybook.com/what-it-means-to-be-butch/ |archive-date=17 July 2023 }}</ref>

Traditionally, the identity and term butch has been used by individuals who are attracted to [[femme]]s. For some butches, this attraction to femmes represents a strong part of their own identity. Because of this, you will often see the dyadic term "[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butch_and_femme butch/femme,"] or referrals to a butch/femme dynamic. However, some butches are attracted to other butches (this was already a topic in Leslie Feinberg's seminal novel [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_Butch_Blues Stone Butch Blues]). The phenomenon of butches attracted to other butches is commonly called "masc-for-masc".<ref name="Bashan" />

Depending on the community in question, butch people may call themselves by different terms. In Black and Latine communities, there may be a preference for the words '''[[aggressive]]''' ('''ag''' for short) or '''[[stud]]''', with much the same meaning as butch.<ref>{{Cite web |title=LGBTQ Terms and Definitions |author= |work= |date= |access-date=31 August 2022 |url= https://lgbtq.multicultural.ufl.edu/programs/speakersbureau/lgbtq-terms-definitions/ |quote=AGGRESSIVE (AG) An identity label claimed by some African-American and Latin@ masculine of center lesbians. Some use “stud” as a synonym. |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230604024046/https://lgbtq.multicultural.ufl.edu/programs/speakersbureau/lgbtq-terms-definitions/ |archive-date= 17 July 2023 }}</ref><ref name="GreenPeterson">{{cite web|title=LGBTTSQI Terminology|date=2006|last1=Green|first1=Eli R.|last2=Peterson|first2=Eric N.|url=http://www.trans-academics.org/lgbttsqiterminology.pdf|work=Trans-Academics.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230520061511/http://www.trans-academics.org/lgbttsqiterminology.pdf|archive-date=17 July 2023}}</ref> White people should use "butch" or another term rather than "stud".<ref name="Bashan" /><ref name="HER_stud">{{Cite web |title=HER - Stud Lesbian Meaning |author= |work=Her |date=29 February 2020 |access-date=11 November 2020 |url= https://weareher.com/stud-lesbian-meaning-lesbian-slang-glossary/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230215200115/https://weareher.com/stud-lesbian-meaning-lesbian-slang-glossary/ |archive-date=17 July 2023 }}</ref><ref name="Prager">{{Cite web |title=Dear White Lesbians: You Are Not Studs |last=Prager |first=Sarah |work=Tagg Magazine |date=10 March 2020 |access-date=13 December 2020 |url= https://taggmagazine.com/white-lesbians-you-are-not-studs/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230428223321/https://taggmagazine.com/white-lesbians-you-are-not-studs/ |archive-date=17 July 2023 }}</ref>

International Butch Appreciation Day is celebrated on August 18 annually.<ref name="ButchDay">{{Cite web |title=Happy Butch Appreciation Day – here's to all the butches! |author= |work=Stonewall |date=16 August 2019 |access-date=22 June 2020 |url= https://www.stonewall.org.uk/about-us/news/happy-butch-appreciation-day-%E2%80%93-heres-all-butches|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230209122430/https://www.stonewall.org.uk/about-us/news/happy-butch-appreciation-day-%E2%80%93-heres-all-butches |archive-date=17 July 2023 }}</ref><ref name="QE">{{Cite web |title=Lesbian Culture & Visibility |author= |work=QueerEvents.ca |date= |access-date=22 June 2020 |url= https://queerevents.ca/queer-culture/lesbian-visibility|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325181554/https://queerevents.ca/queer-culture/lesbian-visibility|archive-date=17 July 2023}}</ref>

In a 2015 survey of non-[[cis]] people in the USA, 5% of respondents (about 1,385 people) were butch.<ref name="2015USTS-44">{{Cite web |title=2015 U.S. Transgender Survey Complete Report |date= |access-date=23 October 2020 |url= https://transequality.org/sites/default/files/docs/usts/USTS-Full-Report-Dec17.pdf|page=44|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308214644/https://transequality.org/sites/default/files/docs/usts/USTS-Full-Report-Dec17.pdf|archive-date=17 July 2023}}</ref>

==Etymology==

The origin of the word "butch" is uncertain. The word ''butch'', meaning "masculine", may have been coined by abbreviating the word ''butcher'', as first noted in George Cassidy's nickname, ''Butch Cassidy''.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Walker|first=Ja'nina|date=March 2012|title=Butch Bottom–Femme Top? An Exploration of Lesbian Stereotypes.|journal=Journal of Lesbian Studies|volume=16|issue=1|pages=90–107|doi=10.1080/10894160.2011.557646|pmid=22239455}}</ref> 

"Butch" can be used as an adjective or a noun<ref name="Bergman 2006">{{cite book|last=Bergman|first=S. Bear|title=Butch is a noun|year=2006|publisher=Suspect Thoughts Press|location=San Francisco|isbn=978-0-9771582-5-6|url=https://books.google.com/?id=jmyfdmsWjiEC&dq=butch+is+a+noun|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719074846/https://books.google.com/books?id=jmyfdmsWjiEC&dq=butch+is+a+noun&hl=en|archive-date=2023-07-19|access-date=2019-11-24|url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref> to describe an individual's [[gender]] or gender performance. A masculine person of any gender can be described as butch, even though it is more common to use the term towards females with more masculine traits.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Smith|first1=Christine A.|last2=Konik|first2=Julie A.|last3= Tuve|first3=Melanie V.|title=In Search of Looks, Status, or Something Else? Partner Preferences Among Butch and Femme Lesbians and Heterosexual Men and Women|date=2011|volume=64|issue=9–10|pages=658–668|journal=Sex Roles|doi=10.1007/s11199-010-9861-8|issn=0360-0025|accessdate=May 1, 2016|url=http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?sid=2bc637f5-dab5-4003-a000-13cf76217d23%40sessionmgr4003&vid=0&hid=4114&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d&preview=false#AN=60686417&db=a9h|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201106205438/http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?sid=2bc637f5-dab5-4003-a000-13cf76217d23%40sessionmgr4003&vid=0&hid=4114&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d&preview=false|archive-date=17 July 2023}}</ref> The term butch tends to denote a degree of masculinity displayed by a female individual beyond what would be considered typical of a tomboy. It is not uncommon for women with a butch appearance to face harassment or violence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stopstreetharassment.org/our-work/nationalstudy/|title=2014 National Street Harassment Report - Stop Street Harassment|author=|date=|website=stopstreetharassment.org|accessdate=31 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230622015320/https://stopstreetharassment.org/our-work/nationalstudy/|archive-date=17 July 2023}}</ref> A 1990s survey of butches showed that 50% were primarily attracted to femmes, while 25% reported being usually attracted to other butches.<ref>{{cite book|last=Caramagno|first=Thomas C.|title=Irreconcilable Differences? Intellectual Stalemate in the Gay Rights Debate|year=2002|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0275977214|pages=138|url=https://books.google.com/?id=IIHQH001Bc8C&dq=faggot+butch|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719074845/https://books.google.com/books?id=IIHQH001Bc8C&dq=faggot+butch&hl=en|archive-date=19 July 2023|access-date=24 November 2019|url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref>

BUTCH Voices, a national conference for "individuals who are [[masculine of center]]", including [[gender variant]], was founded in 2008.<ref>{{cite web|title=About|url=https://www.butchvoices.com/about/|website=BUTCH Voices|date=April 9, 2009|accessdate=11 September 2019|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20181219140900/http://www.butchvoices.com/about/|archivedate=December 19, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230228035414/https://www.butchvoices.com/about/|archive-date=17 July 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=BUTCH Voices Conference Makes Masculine Of Center Womyn Heard|url=http://www.curvemag.com/Events/BUTCH-Voices-Conference-Makes-Masculine-Of-Center-Womyn-Heard-1874/|website=Curve|date=May 8, 2017|accessdate=11 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230501001911/https://www.curvemag.com/Events/BUTCH-Voices-Conference-Makes-Masculine-Of-Center-Womyn-Heard-1874/|archive-date=17 July 2023}}</ref>

==Attributes==
There is debate about to whom the terms butch and femme can apply, and particularly whether transgender individuals can be identified in this way. For example, queer theorist [[Jack Halberstam]] argues that [[transgender men]] cannot be considered butch, since it constitutes a conflation of maleness with butchness. He further argues that butch–femme is uniquely geared to work in lesbian relationships.<ref>{{cite book|last=Caramagno|first=Thomas C.|title=Irreconcilable Differences? Intellectual Stalemate in the Gay Rights Debate|year=2002|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0275977214|pages=137–8|url=https://books.google.com/?id=IIHQH001Bc8C&dq=faggot+butch|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719074845/https://books.google.com/books?id=IIHQH001Bc8C&dq=faggot+butch&hl=en|archive-date=19 July 2023|access-date=24 November 2019|url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref> Stereotypes and definitions of butch and femme vary greatly, even within tight-knit [[LGBT]] communities.  On the other hand, the writer Jewelle Gomez muses that butch and femme women in the earlier twentieth century may have been expressing their closeted transgender identity.<ref>{{cite book|last=Munt|first=Sally|title=Butch/Femme: Inside Lesbian Gender|year=1998|publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group|isbn=978-0304339594|page=229|url=https://books.google.com/?id=1G5M13Xida0C&dq=jewelle+gomez+femme|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719074846/https://books.google.com/books?id=1G5M13Xida0C&dq=jewelle+gomez+femme&hl=en|archive-date=19 July 2023|access-date=24 November 2019|url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref><ref name=Coyote>{{cite book|editor1-last=Coyote|editor1-first=Ivan E.|editor2-last=Sharman|editor2-first=Zena|title=Persistence: All Ways Butch and Femme|date=2011|pages=67–78|chapter=Femme Butch Feminist, by Jewelle Gomez|publisher=Arsenal Pulp Press|location=Vancouver, B.C., Canada|isbn=978-1551523972}}</ref> Antipathy toward female butches and male femmes has been interpreted by some commentators as [[transphobia]],<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/?id=xBb55sOOIX4C&dq=Butch+femme+transphobia|title=Female Impersonation|last=Tyler|first=Carol-Ann|publisher=Routledge|year=2003|isbn=978-0-415-91688-2|pages=91|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719074851/https://books.google.com/books?id=xBb55sOOIX4C&dq=Butch+femme+transphobia&hl=en|archive-date=19 July 2023|access-date=24 November 2019|url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref> although female butches and male femmes are not always [[transgender]], and indeed some heterosexuals of both genders display these attributes.<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190731093617/http://vagendamagazine.com/2015/01/theres-no-other-georgy-deep-inside-coming-out-as-a-butch-straight-woman/|url=http://vagendamagazine.com/2015/01/theres-no-other-georgy-deep-inside-coming-out-as-a-butch-straight-woman/|title=There's No Other Georgy Deep Inside – Coming Out As A Butch Straight Woman|last=O'Hara|first=Kate|date=7 January 2015|work=The Vagenda|archive-date=31 July 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://thoughtcatalog.com/james-hunt/2015/05/confessions-of-a-feminine-straight-guy/|title=Confessions Of A Feminine Straight Guy |last=Hunt |first=James|date=14 May 2015|website=thoughtcatalog.com|accessdate=20 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230501061159/https://thoughtcatalog.com/james-hunt/2015/05/confessions-of-a-feminine-straight-guy/|archive-date=17 July 2023}}</ref>

Scholars such as [[Judith Butler]] and Anne Fausto-Sterling suggest that butch and femme are not attempts to take up "traditional" gender roles. Instead, they argue that gender is socially and historically constructed, rather than essential, "natural", or biological. The historian Joan Nestle argues that femme and butch may be seen as distinct genders in and of themselves.<ref>{{cite book|last=Nestle|first=Joan|title=The Persistent Desire: A Femme–Butch Reader|year=1992|publisher=Alyson Publications|isbn=978-1555831905|url=https://books.google.com/?id=3u9ZAAAAMAAJ&q=The+persistent+desire&dq=The+persistent+desire|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719075352/https://books.google.com/books?id=3u9ZAAAAMAAJ&q=The+persistent+desire&dq=The+persistent+desire&hl=en|archive-date=19 July 2023|access-date=24 November 2019|url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref>

==Difference between butch and male==
Although butch is a masculine identity, it isn't the same thing as conventional manhood or masculinity. There are differences, particularly in how conventional manhood and masculinity involve conformity, whereas the [[MOGII]] qualities of butch make it subversive.

Butch gender expression through clothing doesn't follow the rules for how to dress conventionally as male or masculine, and in some ways is intentionally different. Butch clothing doesn't look the same as conventional men's wear. See the main article about these [[Clothing#Masculine fashion|clothing differences]].

Masculinity is different than maleness. Butches are different than transgender men. Although transgender men were assigned female at birth (or sometimes intersex), and some identified as lesbian before recognizing that they were trans men, the difference is that butch lesbians generally identify as women, and feel attracted to women, whereas trans men identify as men, and may or may not feel attracted to women.

Some have argued that butch people can benefit from male privilege or have toxic masculinity despite not being men.<ref name="Bashan" /><ref name="Nash">{{Cite web |title=COVER STORY: Butch Voices |author=Nash, Tammye |work=Dallas Voice |date=3 March 2011 |access-date=29 September 2020 |url= https://dallasvoice.com/butch-voices/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701104708/https://dallasvoice.com/butch-voices/ |archive-date=17 July 2023 }}</ref> However, this is disputed.<ref name="Factora">{{Cite web |title=Being Butch Does Not Mean I Experience Masculine Privilege |last=Factora |first=James |work=refinery29.com |date=10 October 2019 |access-date=29 September 2020 |url= https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/butch-masculine-privilege-myth|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230131113714/https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/butch-masculine-privilege-myth |archive-date=17 July 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=https://web.stanford.edu/group/journal/cgi-bin/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Lee_Hum_2009.pdf|last=Lee|first=Atticus|title=The Role of Butch/Femme Relationships in Transgender Activism: A Codependent Mutualism|quote= Butch lesbians debunk the gender binary with their mere existence; they embody masculine gender presentations without possessing male privilege or participating in the dominant patriarchy.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124014654/https://web.stanford.edu/group/journal/cgi-bin/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Lee_Hum_2009.pdf|archive-date=17 July 2023}}</ref><ref name="Kaos">{{Cite web |title=Lesbian Subcultures: Are you Looking for a Butch or Femme? |last=Kaos |first=Trini |work=Queer Events |date=20 April 2020 |access-date=19 April 2021 |url= https://www.queerevents.ca/queer-culture/posts/lesbian-subcultures |quote=No institution or culture privileges butches and they are often routinely punished; both in their gender-non-conformity and in their status as a visible marker of lesbianism. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230625103101/https://queerevents.ca/queer-culture/posts/lesbian-subcultures |archive-date=17 July 2023 }}</ref>

==Transgender butches==
While the term "transgender butch" could apply to a masculine trans person, regardless of [[sex#Gender assigned at birth|gender assigned at birth]], the term is often used in a more specific sense to describe a person who was assigned female at birth, has a masculine gender expression, and experiences [[gender dysphoria]] while identifying as butch rather than male or another gender. Transgender butches may identify as [[genderqueer]] or [[nonbinary]]; some claim butch as a specific nonbinary identity. Transgender butches may also identify as lesbians or dykes independently of their gender identity. A similar term is "stone butch", which describes a butch who prefers to avoid genital stimulation in sexual settings, sometimes due to [[gender dysphoria]].

=== Other terms ===
Some  women in lesbian communities eschew butch or femme classifications, believing that they are inadequate to describe an individual, or that labels are limiting in and of themselves. Other people within the LGBT community have tailored the common labels to be more descriptive, such as "soft stud," "hard butch," "gym queen," or "tomboy femme." Comedian Elvira Kurt contributed the term "fellagirly" as a description for LGBT women who are not strictly either femme or butch, but a combination. From the 1940s to 1990s, the term "kiki" was used for a similar meaning.<ref>{{cite book |editor = Zimmerman |editor-given = Bonnie |title = Encyclopedia of Lesbian and Gay Histories and Cultures. Vol. I |publisher = Garland Publishing, Inc |year = 2000 |page = [https://books.google.de/books?id=qAZ5AgAAQBAJ&q=KIKI+1940s+lesbian&pg=PA140&redir_esc=y#v=snippet&q=KIKI%201940s%20lesbian&f=false 140] |quote ="Kiki: a term used from the 1940s through the 1960s for a lesbian who could be either butch or femme."}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title= What is She Like?: Lesbian Identities from the 1950s to the 1990s |last=Ainley |first=Rosa |year=1995 |url=https://archive.org/details/whatisshelike00rosa/page/152/mode/2up |page=152 |quote=Although kiki has never been a term, or a category, with such currency as butch and femme, and is still far more recognized in the USA than in Britain, it now means someone who is deliberately both, rather than the 'neither fish nor fowl' connotation it used to have.|archive-url=False |archive-date=17 July 2023 }}</ref>

Those who identify as butch and femme today often use the words to define their presentation and gender identity rather than strictly the role they play in a relationship, and that not all butches are attracted exclusively to femmes and not all femmes are exclusively attracted to butches, a departure from the historic norm. Besides the terms "butch" and "femme", there are a number of other terms used to describe the dress codes, the sexual behaviours, and/or the gender identities of the sexual subcultures who use them. The meanings of these terms vary and can evolve over time.

A butch woman may be described as a "stone butch", "diesel dyke"<ref name="The Other Team">{{cite web|url=http://www.theotherteam.com/common-lesbian-slang-and-terminology/|archive-date=7 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200207040105/http://www.theotherteam.com/common-lesbian-slang-and-terminology/|title=Common lesbian slang and terminology|publisher=The Other Team}}</ref> "bulldyke", "bull bitch" or "bulldagger"<ref name="haggerty">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nvt8el4QtPwC&dq=Bulldyke&q=Bull%20bitch+%2Bbulldyker#v=onepage&q=Bulldagger%20Also%20bulldyke&f=false|title=Encyclopedia of Lesbian And Gay Histories and Cultures, Vol 1|last=Haggerty|first=George E.|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2000|isbn=978-0815333548|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127061344/https://books.google.com/books?id=nvt8el4QtPwC&dq=Bulldyke&q=Bull%20bitch+%2Bbulldyker|archive-date=17 July 2023}}</ref> or simply just as a "[[dyke]]". The term "[[boi]]" is typically used by younger LGBT women. Defining the difference between a butch and a boi, one boi told a reporter: "that sense of play - that's a big difference from being a butch. To me, butch is like an adult...You're the man of the house."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/features/n_9709/|title=Where the Bois Are|last=Levy|first=Ariel|newspaper=New York News and Features|accessdate=November 29, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230425035826/http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/features/n_9709/|archive-date=17 July 2023}}</ref> There is also an emerging usage of the terms soft butch "stem" (stud-femme), "futch" (feminine butch)<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/?id=JTpUfGcsATwC&dq=futch+lesbian|title=Queer: The Ultimate LGBT Guide for Teens|last=Belge|first=Kathy|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|year=2011|isbn=9780547687322|pages=10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201106010304/https://books.google.com/?id=JTpUfGcsATwC&dq=futch+lesbian|archive-date=17 July 2023}}</ref> or "chapstick lesbian" as terms for women who have characteristics of both butch and femme. Lesbians who are neither butch nor femme may be called "androgynous" or "andros".<ref name="The Other Team" />

Another common term is "stud". A stud is a dominant lesbian, usually butch. They tend to be influenced by urban and hip-hop cultures and are often Hispanic or Black. In the New York City lesbian community, a butch may identify herself as AG (aggressive) or as a stud. In 2005, filmmaker Eric Daniel Peddle chronicled the lives of AGs in his documentary The Aggressives, following six women who went to lengths like [[binding|binding their breasts]] to pass as men. But Peddle says that today, very young lesbians of color in New York are creating a new, insular scene that's largely cut off from the rest of the gay and lesbian community. "A lot of it has to do with this kind of pressure to articulate and express your masculinity within the confines of the hip-hop paradigm..."<ref>{{cite news|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081022063719/http://www.villagevoice.com/2007-04-03/nyc-life/girls-to-men/|archive-date=22 October 2008|date=3 April 2007|url=http://www.villagevoice.com/2007-04-03/nyc-life/girls-to-men/|title=Girls to Men|last=Hilliard|first=Chloe A.|newspaper=The Village Voice}}</ref> The AG culture has also been represented on film by Black lesbian filmmaker Dee Rees' 2011 work, ''Pariah''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/25/movies/pariah-reveals-another-side-of-being-black-in-the-us.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0|title=New Directors Flesh Out Black America, All Of It|last=George|first=Nelson|date=December 23, 2011|newspaper=New York Times|accessdate=November 29, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230430211238/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/25/movies/pariah-reveals-another-side-of-being-black-in-the-us.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0|archive-date=17 July 2023}}</ref>

==Stone butch==

Going back to at least the 1960s or 50s, a "stone butch" refers a masculine lesbian, and in contemporary use is associated with impenetrability.<ref name=Halberstam>{{Cite book|last1=Halberstam|first1=Judith|title=Female Masculinity|year=1998|edition=1st|page=111|publisher=Duke University Press|location=|chapter=Lesbian Masculinity: Even Stone Butches Get the Blues|isbn=0822322269|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/femalemasculinit00judi|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619230204/https://archive.org/details/femalemasculinit00judi|archive-date=17 July 2023}}</ref> The "stone" sexual role describes a preference for bringing pleasure to one's partner, without being touched oneself.<ref name=Zimmerman1999>{{Cite book|editor-last1=Zimmerman|editor-first1=Bonnie|title=Lesbian Histories and Cultures|year=1999|edition=1st|page=140|publisher=Routledge|location=|isbn=978-0815319207|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofle00bzim|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220622041309/https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofle00bzim|archive-date=17 July 2023}}</ref><ref name=Myers2013>{{Cite book|editor-last1=Myers|editor-first1=JoAnne|title=Historical Dictionary of the Lesbian and Gay Liberation Movements|year=2013|edition=1st|page=346|publisher=Scarecrow Press|location=|isbn=0810874687}}</ref> Being "stone" in this way can be connected with sexual trauma, [[gender dysphoria]], or the [[Romantic and sexual_orientation#Asexuality|asexual spectrum]].

In relation to gender, a femme lesbian named Rachel Tessler wrote in 1996 that "some stone butches are almost beyond butch. They're almost in a kind of territory between genders, beyond being women. I think some stone butches aren't really women, in the way that they think about people."<ref>''Render Me, Gender Me: Lesbians Talk Sex, Class, Color, Nation, Studmuffins...'', p. 104-105, Columbia University Press, 1996</ref>

A 2001 dictionary of sex and gender terminology by linguist Philip Herbst noted that {{quote|[[Bigender]]ed or [[transgender]]ed lesbians—individuals with [ [[AFAB]]] bodies who identify as masculine and may be attracted to other women— may call themselves ''stone butch'' [...] ''Stone'' may mean "very" in slang, but it also implies "untouchable" in a sexual sense—not wanting to be touched during sexual relations.<ref>{{cite book|title=Wimmin, Wimps & Wallflowers: An Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Gender and Sexual Orientation Bias in the United States |last=Herbst |first=Philip|year=2001|page=41}}</ref>}}

==Soft butch==

A '''soft butch''', or '''stem''' ('''stud-fem'''), is a [[lesbian]] who exhibits some stereotypical butch traits without fitting the masculine stereotype associated with butch lesbians. Soft butch is on the spectrum of butch, as are stone butch and masculine, whereas on the contrary, ultra fem, high femme, and lipstick lesbian are some labels on the spectrum of lesbians with a more prominent expression of femininity, also known as [[Femme|femmes]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Smith|first1=Christine A.|last2=Stillman|first2=Shannon|title=Do Butch and Femme Still Attract?|journal=The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide|date=2003|volume=X|issue=4}}</ref> Soft butches may have gender identities of women, but primarily display masculine characteristics; soft butches predominantly express masculinity with a touch of femininity.<ref name="rose">{{cite journal|last1=Rose|first1=Dawn|last2=Plaskow|first2=Judith|title=Yusuf Come Home: Parashat Miketz (genesis 41:1-44:17)|journal=Torah Queeries: Weekly Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible|date=2009|page=62}}</ref> 

The "hardness", or label depicting one's level of masculine expression as a butch is dependent upon the fluidity of their [[gender expression]].<ref name="halberstam">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/?id=UYAi9OEYRekC&pg=PA123&dq=soft+butch&cd=4|title=Female Masculinity|first=Judith|last=Halberstam|authorlink=Judith Halberstam|publisher=Duke University Press|year=1998|edition=5page=123|isbn=978-0-8223-2243-6|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719075353/https://books.google.com/books?id=UYAi9OEYRekC&pg=PA123&dq=soft+butch&cd=4&hl=en#v=onepage&q=%22soft%20butch%22&f=false|archive-date=19 July 2023|access-date=24 November 2019|url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref> Soft butches might want to express themselves through their clothing and hairstyle in a more masculine way, but their behavior in a more traditionally feminine way.<ref name="rose"/> For example, these traits of a soft butch may or may not include short hair, clothing that was designed for men, and masculine mannerisms and behaviors. Soft butches generally appear [[androgynous]], rather than adhering to strictly feminine or masculine norms and [[gender identity|gender identities.]]<ref>{{Cite journal|title = The Coming-Out Process of Young Lesbian and Bisexual Women: Are There Butch/Femme Differences in Sexual Identity Development?|journal = Archives of Sexual Behavior|date = 2007-09-26|issn = 0004-0002|pmc = 3189348|pmid = 17896173|pages = 34–49|volume = 38|issue = 1|doi = 10.1007/s10508-007-9221-0|language = en|first = Margaret|last = Rosario|first2 = Eric W.|last2 = Schrimshaw|first3 = Joyce|last3 = Hunter|first4 = Anna|last4 = Levy-Warren}}</ref> Soft butches generally physically, sexually, and romantically express themselves in more masculine than feminine ways in the majority of those categories.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Carpenter|first1=Karen|last2=McKenzie|first2=Matthew|title=Love on a Continuum|journal=Social and Economic Studies|date=2011|volume=60|issue=1|page=118}}</ref>

In addition to a soft butch's gender expression through their outward appearance, they also have a distinctive way of sexually expressing themself. Soft butches might want to have a more passive role sexually or romantically in their relationships, which is generally associated with feminine sexual behavior.<ref name="rose"/> This is an example of how a soft butch's sexuality and outward appearance are not completely masculine, but have some feminine traits. Conversely, stone butches are less fluid in their sexuality and do not want to receive sexual contact from their sexual partners.<ref name="halberstam"/> This desire to express both masculinity and femininity through one's gender and sexuality is clearly seen in soft butch women, but also across many people of a variety of sexual orientations.<ref name="rose"/>

==Flags==
There is no universally-accepted flag for the butch identity, but many have been proposed. Below are some of them.
<gallery>
File:Lesbian-labrys.png|The lesbian labrys flag, sometimes called the butch lesbian flag<ref>{{cite tweet|user=SpacemanBobs|number=1278827580452298752 |date=2 July 2020|title=It's not pride month anymore so I know this is a little late but I would like to remind everyone that the butch lesbian flag is a BATTLE AXE}}</ref><ref>{{cite tweet|user=chlonus_thonus|number=1276576754140942336|date=2 June 2020|title=The butch flag is one of the coolest pride flags imo because it uses a symbol instead of just stripes. (I still like the regular lesbian flag, it's common for gay subcultures to also have their own flags)}}</ref>, but sometimes called the lesbian feminist flag.<ref>{{cite web|website=Wikimedia Commons|url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sexual_identity_symbols&oldid=475813572|date= 29 September 2020|access-date=14 December 2020|title=Sexual identity symbols}}</ref> Created in 1999 by gay graphic designer Sean Campbell.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gaysandgadgets.com/product/butch-lesbian-pride-flag-printed-90-x-150-cm/|title=Butch Lesbian (Labrys) Pride Flag Printed 90 x 150 cm|website=Gays&Gadgets}}</ref>
File:Butch_by_dorian--rutherford.png|By tumblr user dorian--rutherford.
File:Butch by butchspace.png|By tumblr user butchspace.
File:Butch by catboyharuspex.jpg|By tumblr user catboyharuspex.
File:Butch by nbgender.png|By tumblr user nbgender.
File:Butch by FOLIELOADED - tweaked version.png|By twitter user FOLIELOADED. 
File:Butch flag by xeno-aligned.png|By tumblr user xeno-aligned.
File:Butch flag by disasterbisexual.png|By tumblr user disasterbisexual.
File:Butch flag by butch-pentious.png|By tumblr user butch-pentious.
File:Nonbinary butch by ap.png|A flag for nonbinary butches (enbutches) submitted to Beyond MOGAI Pride Flags by user "ap".
File:Butch by sweetjinxii.png|By tumblr user sweetjinxii.
File:Butch by kenochoric.png|By tumblr user kenochoric, who nicknamed it the "sky butch" flag.
</gallery>

== Notable butch people ==

[[File:Ivan Coyote.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Ivan E. Coyote]] in 2017.]]
[[File:Sinclair Sexsmith 06-23-2009 by Rachel Kramer Bussell.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Sinclair Sexsmith]] at a Bluestockings bookstore reading in 2009.]]

There are many more [[notable nonbinary people|notable people who have a gender identity outside of the binary]]. The following are only some of those notable people who specifically use the word "butch" (or a close analog to it) for themselves as a gender identity outside of the binary. 

* The author [[Corey Alexander]], who wrote under the pen name Xan West, identified as [[genderqueer]], [[queer]], [[trans]], stone butch, [[aromantic|demiromantic]], and [[asexual|demigraysexual]].<ref name="Simkiss">{{Cite web |title=Author Interview: Xan West |author=Simkiss, Ceillie |work=Let's Fox About It |date= |access-date=5 October 2020 |url= https://letsfoxaboutit.com/author-interview-xan-west/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220809232147/https://www.letsfoxaboutit.com/author-interview-xan-west/ |archive-date=17 July 2023 }}</ref>
* [[Ivan E. Coyote]] (b. 1969) is a Canadian author who has written extensively about being transgender and being butch. They<ref>Black, Eleanor (August 20, 2016). "Ivan Coyote: 'I always knew I was not the same as other little girls'". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved July 26, 2017. https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/books/83178100/ivan-coyote-i-always-knew-i-was-not-the-same-as-other-little-girls [https://web.archive.org/web/20201019050356/https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/books/83178100/ivan-coyote-i-always-knew-i-was-not-the-same-as-other-little-girls Archived] on 17 July 2023</ref> have made significant contributions to the representation of queerness in literature. They have won the ReLit Award for Best Fiction (2007), and the Stonewall Honor Book Award (2017). They describe themself as "a trans person who doesn't fit neatly into the [[gender binary]],"<ref>[https://www.ted.com/talks/ivan_coyote_why_we_need_gender_neutral_bathrooms/transcript Why we need gender-neutral bathrooms], Ivan Coyote, November 2015 [https://web.archive.org/web/20230325200731/http://www.ted.com/talks/ivan_coyote_why_we_need_gender_neutral_bathrooms/transcript Archived] on 17 July 2023</ref> and they identify as butch.<ref>https://abcbookworld.com/writer/coyote-ivan-e/ [https://web.archive.org/web/20221205154452/https://abcbookworld.com/writer/coyote-ivan-e/ Archived] on 17 July 2023</ref>
* American comedian, writer, and nurse [[Kelli Dunham]] describes herself<ref name="story">{{Cite web |title=THE STORY |author= |work=kellidunham.com |date= |access-date=24 July 2020 |url= http://www.kellidunham.com/the-story/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314231523/https://www.kellidunham.com/the-story/|archive-date=17 July 2023}}</ref> as a [[genderqueer]] [[woman]]<ref name="Wood">{{Cite web |title=Q&A: Comedian Kelli Dunham on Storytelling as a Radical, Transformative Act |last=Wood |first=Erin |work=Ms. Magazine |date=15 May 2017 |access-date=3 June 2020 |url= https://msmagazine.com/2017/05/15/qa-comedian-kelli-dunham-storytelling-radicaltransformative-act/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230612184627/https://msmagazine.com/2017/05/15/qa-comedian-kelli-dunham-storytelling-radicaltransformative-act/ |archive-date=17 July 2023 }}</ref>/[[nonbinary]] [[transmasc]] butch.<ref name="Guerrero">{{Cite web |title=Genderqueer Comic Kelli Dunham On Getting (Thee) Away From a Nunnery |last=Guerrero |first=Desirée |work=The Advocate |date=21 April 2020 |access-date=3 June 2020 |url= https://www.advocate.com/comedy/2020/4/21/genderqueer-comic-kelli-dunham-getting-thee-away-nunnery|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230103074504/https://www.advocate.com/comedy/2020/4/21/genderqueer-comic-kelli-dunham-getting-thee-away-nunnery |archive-date=17 July 2023 }}</ref>
* [[Leslie Feinberg]] (1949 - 2014) was a revolutionary communist and activist for transgender rights. Feinberg identified as a butch lesbian, in the sense of a queer masculine transgender identity neither female nor male. Feinberg's novel, ''Stone Butch Blues'' (1993) won the prestigious American Library Association Award for Gay and Lesbian Literature and a LAMBDA Literary Award (Leslie Feinberg).<ref name="lesliefeinberg">[http://www.lesliefeinberg.net/ Village Voice] [https://web.archive.org/web/20230705182548/https://www.lesliefeinberg.net/ Archived] on 17 July 2023</ref>
* American musician and comedian [[Maxine Feldman]] (1945 - 2007) identified as a transgender butch lesbian, went by a variety of pronouns, was described as having a "both/and" gender identity, and was comfortable with being labeled as a man or woman.<ref name="jwa">{{Cite web |title=Maxine Feldman, 1945 - 2007 |author= |work=Jewish Women's Archive |date= |access-date=8 October 2020 |url= https://jwa.org/weremember/feldman-maxine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230507142412/https://jwa.org/weremember/feldman-maxine |archive-date=17 July 2023 }}</ref><ref name="Kiritsy">{{cite news|last=Kiritsy|first=Laura|title=Lesbian trail blazer Maxine Feldman dies|url=http://www.edgeprovidence.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=36268|newspaper=Edge Providence|date=August 30, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331030136/http://www.edgeprovidence.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=36268|archive-date=17 July 2023}}</ref>
* [[Sonalee Rashatwar]] is an American<ref name="Owens">{{Cite web |title=To end fatphobia, we need to dismantle Western civilization, says Philly therapist Sonalee Rashatwar |last=Owens |first=Cassie |work=The Inquirer |date=3 July 2019 |access-date=16 June 2020 |url= https://www.inquirer.com/news/sonalee-rashatwar-fat-positivity-body-acceptance-sexuality-therapy-20190703.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230531182900/https://www.inquirer.com/news/sonalee-rashatwar-fat-positivity-body-acceptance-sexuality-therapy-20190703.html |archive-date=17 July 2023 }}</ref> Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has given talks internationally about sexuality, fat positivity, disability justice, racism, and more.<ref name="Fabello">{{Cite web |title=Sonalee Rashatwar Is Returning Body Positivity to Its Political Roots |last=Fabello |first=Melissa A. |work=Bitch Media |date=21 May 2019 |access-date=16 June 2020 |url= https://www.bitchmedia.org/article/sonalee-rashatwar-interview|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604073423/https://www.bitchmedia.org/article/sonalee-rashatwar-interview |archive-date=17 July 2023 }}</ref> They identify as a soft butch enby.<ref name="IGbio">https://www.instagram.com/thefatsextherapist/ [https://web.archive.org/web/20230523141837/https://www.instagram.com/thefatsextherapist/ Archived] on 17 July 2023</ref>
* [[Sinclair Sexsmith]] is a writer and performer. They identify as a "White [[non-binary]] butch [[feminism|feminist]] dominant".<ref name="medium">{{Cite web |title=Sinclair Sexsmith profile |author= |work=Medium |date= |access-date=9 April 2020 |url= https://medium.com/@mrsexsmith|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116161444/https://medium.com/@mrsexsmith|archive-date=17 July 2023}}</ref> Their short story collection, ''Sweet & Rough: Queer Kink Erotica'', was a 2016 finalist for the Lambda Literary Award.
* [[Sarah Shook]] (b. 1985) is a nonbinary/genderqueer country musician who identifies as butch.<ref name="Cholst">{{Cite web |title=Your Guide to the Butches of Queer Country |last1=Cholst |first1=Rachel |work=Country Queer |date= |access-date=April 10, 2021 |url= https://countryqueer.com/stories/list/your-guide-to-the-butches-of-queer-country/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220626072928/https://countryqueer.com/stories/list/your-guide-to-the-butches-of-queer-country/ |archive-date=17 July 2023 }}</ref>

{{Clear}}

== Butch characters in fiction ==

''See main article: [[Nonbinary gender in fiction#Nonbinary genders in fiction|Nonbinary gender in fiction]]''

[[File:SAG Awards Red Carpet Rollout (24328180089).jpg|thumb|Lea DeLaria (right), known for her role as Carrie Black in the TV series Orange is The New Black at the SAG Awards Red Carpet Rollout]]

There are many more [[Nonbinary gender in fiction#Nonbinary genders in fiction|nonbinary characters in fiction who have a gender identity outside of the binary]]. The following are only some of those characters who are specifically called by the word "butch" (or a close analog to it) as a gender identity, either in their canon, or by their creators.

* ''Stone Butch Blues'' by [[Leslie Feinberg]], a semi-autobiographical historical fiction novel about a butch named Jess Goldberg. The story focuses on the trials and tribulations she faces growing up in the United States before the Stonewall riots. Feinberg defines butch as a gender identity neither female nor male.
* ''Orange is the New Black'' included a main character, Carrie Black, who is a butch lesbian. The word "butch" is tattooed on her arm. Carrie is a cisgender butch.
* ''An Unkindness of Ghosts'', by [[Rivers Solomon]]. The author has said, "Aster is an [[intersex]] butch [[lesbian]], but maybe [[agender]]. Theo is a nonbinary trans woman. These are my interpretations, but arguments could certainly be made for other classifiers."<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190625035918/https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=15918|url=https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=15918|date=10 October 2018|archive-date=25 June 2019|title=An Interview with Author Rivers Solomon|last=Falck|first=Alex}}</ref>
*In the book ''Whirlwind'', by Reese Morrison, Charlie is a [[gender questioning]] butch who uses [[she/her]] pronouns.<ref>{{cite book|title=Whirlwind |last=Morrison |first=Reese|year=2020|edition=Kindle}}</ref>
*In the romance/suspense novel ''A Jade's Diamond'', by Char Dafoe, the two main characters are a soft butch prostitute named Nayvee LaCroix and a stone butch millionaire named Trystan Diamond. Both characters are nonbinary.<ref>[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08T1JW9Q9/#customerReviews Amazon reviews for ''A Jade's Diamond''] [https://web.archive.org/web/20210114173457/https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08T1JW9Q9 Archived] on 17 July 2023</ref>

{{Clear}}

==See also==
*[[Femme]]
*[[Boi]]
*[[Tomboy]]

==External Links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20170506031806/http://www.butchtastic.net/butch-genderqueer-genderfluid-genderfuck-and-trans-blogs-to-watch-out-for/ Butchtastic: Butch, Genderqueer, Genderfluid, Genderfuck and Trans Blogs to watch out for]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20180902195731/https://debonairgeek.wordpress.com/2010/09/11/deep-thoughts/ Debonair Geek's Blog: Deep Thoughts]
*[http://www.amazon.com/Stone-Butch-Blues-Leslie-Feinberg/dp/1459608453 Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg]
*[https://susans.org/wiki/Butch_and_femme Susan's Place Transgender Resource Wiki: Butch and Femme]
*[https://susans.org/wiki/Soft_butch Susan's Place Transgender Resource Wiki: Soft Butch]
*[https://susans.org/wiki/Stone_butch Susan's Place Transgender Resources Wiki: Stone Butch]
*[http://www.butchvoices.com/ Butch Voices], "a grassroots organization dedicated to all self-identified [[Masculine of center|Masculine of Center]] people and our Allies"
*{{Cite web |title=A Dispatch From the Shifting, Porous Border Between Butch and Trans |last=Urquhart |first=Evan |work=Slate Magazine |date=24 April 2015 |url= https://slate.com/human-interest/2015/04/butch-and-trans-a-dispatch-from-the-shifting-border.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230620114842/https://slate.com/human-interest/2015/04/butch-and-trans-a-dispatch-from-the-shifting-border.html |archive-date=17 July 2023 }}
*[https://xanwest.wordpress.com/2014/03/09/what-is-stone/ What Is Stone?] by [[Xan West]]
*[https://lisalees.com/ll/books/Fragments/c-05.html Is Butch/Femme a Transgender Thang?] by Lisa Lees
*[https://www.butchisnotadirtyword.com/ Butch Is Not A Dirty Word], "A Queer Magazine for Butch [[Dyke]]s, Butch Lesbians, Butch Women, Trans Butches, Non-binary Butches & All Those Who Love Them"

==References==
<references/>

[[Category: Nonbinary identities]]