As you've probably noticed, I list a bunch of my favorite blogs in the right-hand column--you should definitely check them all out(!). I try to keep it fresh, so I delete blogs that seem inactive (i.e., haven't posted in 2012).
I'm grateful to my fellow bloggers, who always have something interesting to say, keep me on my toes, and comment thoughtfully on BW. I don't know if these folks know how religiously I read them, but I do(!). And I wanted to highlight some of my favorite posts from the past couple of months:
What else have you been reading online lately?
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It's been a full week since I've written a Butch Wonders entry. Often when I have something I have to (or want to) write and I haven't really been doing it, my brain does this (click to see a bigger version): I'm learning to write a little faster and get stuff out there immediately. This is the "prototype early and often" principle (in design thinking parlance), or the "fail, fail again, fail better" principle (in Samuel Beckett / Zadie Smith parlance), or the "brain crack" principle (in Ze Frank parlance).
...Anyone else ever experience anything like the flow chart above? Me, headed to a bachelorette party Recently it feels like people have been writing with more and more questions about me and my blog. I thought I'd answer a few of them today as best I can. Here are some that I've received from readers over the past couple of months: Q: Why did you start BW? A: I didn't think there were enough websites out there for women like me: lesbians toward the masculine end of the spectrum. I was unsure what to wear, what etiquette was like in certain situations, and whether other people were interested in the same kinds of discussions around identity that I am. Q: How many hits do you get every day? A: It varies. In the last month, my highest has been just over 3000 and my lowest has been 1000. On days I post something decent, 1500 or so. Q: How does the traffic you get compare to other lesbian blogs? A: I have no idea. Q: Who's your staff? A: My "staff??" It's just me, sitting in my living room with my dog and a cup of coffee, typing into cyberspace and hoping someone will read it. Q: Do you make a lot of money writing Butch Wonders? A: I've spent about $700 on site costs over the last year. And through the Butch Store and selling occasional ads, I've made maybe $300 total. So, still in the hole. I never envisioned this as a business, though, so that's okay (though it would rock to get paid for doing something I love so much!). Q: Why do you keep the blog anonymous? A: This has been a hard decision. The short answer is: my job. My supervisor told me my chances for advancement could be harmed by this kind of outside writing. So I'm on the DL (as BW, not as a lesbian!) because I think I can do more good by advancing in my career first and coming out as BW second. But I struggle with this. Plus, I'd love to make videos for you, and right now, all I can do is appear on the radio (which, I hope, is happening again soon--stay tuned). Q: So does anyone know that you write this? A: Yep. Mainly family members and close friends. A few professional contacts. And one or two folks who wanted me to write for them and needed to verify that I'm really the thirty-something dyke I claim to be (I am, though arguably more nerdy than sometimes represented here). ;) Q: Is it true that you used to be married to a guy? A: Yes. You can read about it in several entries. Check out my Index of Topics, under "Married to a Man." Q: Aren't you limiting yourself by writing this for butches rather than for all lesbians? A: Sure. But a lot of the issues I'm interested in apply mostly to masculine-of-center women. I didn't want to write about suits and ties and then claim to be a "lesbian" blog, since plenty of lesbians aren't the tie-wearing type. Q: Do you have a girlfriend? Is she butch or femme? A: I do! I refer to her as my DGF (dear girlfriend) on the blog. She identifies as neither butch nor femme, and mostly eschews labels (I really want her to write a post about this sometime). I suspect that most people consider her butch or soft butch, and that many people in the community would consider us a butch-butch couple (so do I, most of the time). Q: Why don't you write a column for Curve? A: I pitched it to them, but they never got back to me. I followed up: still no response. So at the moment, I'm not a columnist for anyone. Need a columnist? Email me! Q: Where do you live? A: I'm going to stick with the whole anonymity thing and not say. But I will say that I'm in a rural area that's very close to a large urban area. I think this provides a nice balance for me, though it does mean that I burn more gas than I'd prefer to. Okay, dear readers--that will do for now. Got any other questions for me? These may not be as patently silly as May's search terms were, but it still amazes me what people can search for to reach Butch Wonders. Here are some of my favorites from this month:
A dyke on a bike in Oklahoma City (from Stacey) Great news, dear readers: I've finished the outline of the Pride Project site, and I've been putting up the fabulous pics you've started sending in! So far, I have five cities up, and I'm hoping they'll give you a taste of the awesomeness to come: I'm excited about the project, and hope you are, too! More soon--I'll keep you updated. I have about 80 readers signed up so far, and the more the better! Send me a quick email if you might be interested. Pics and written descriptions of any of this year's Pride celebrations (including the ones that already have pages up) are welcome. And as always, so's your feedback. |
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