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Hey, all. It's been a minute. What's happened since then? Well, something in my work life exploded and I was hit by some metaphorical shrapnel and I've been recovering, plus hustling as much as I can to get myself back on track. But don't think I haven't thought of you--I've totally thought of you. Here is a partial list of Random Things. Nothing would make me happier than to read in the comments one or two things that *you* have been thinking.
Um, that's it. Basically I just wanted to say hi. Hi! Happy Thanksgiving!!
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 Where does YOUR city rank? Starting in 2004, the Lesbian, Gay, and Queer Research Foundation (LGQRF), has been keeping track of queer sub-populations in the U.S. They have ALL kinds of quantitative data, both about self-identity and lifestyle. They don't list "butch" as a self-selected category, but do collapse several indicative variables together, including sporting activities, reading habits, car ownership, occupation, and more, and end up with a startlingly accurate picture of the butch population throughout the U.S.  Oklahoma City: a secret butch mecca? If you're like me, you're a little hesitant--after all, there a thousand ways to measure the "butchest" towns and cities: butches as a percentage of the queer population, butches as a percentage of the general population, or degree of butchness (that is, how "butch" are the butches there, even if there aren't very many of them?). The GLQRF actually breaks it down in seven different ways, but I'm just going to highlight the top 5 in the categories I think are the most interesting. (The GLQRF lists 50 in each, and that's just waaaay too many for me to include here.) Butches as a percentage of the queer population 1. Sudbury, Massachusetts 2. La Honda, California 3. Dixville Notch, New Hampshire 4. New York, New York 5. Sioux Falls, South Dakota Butches as a percentage of the general population 1. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 2. Northampton, Massachusetts 3. Oakland, California 4. Provo, Utah 5. Abilene, Texas  Apparently it's not just Portland's coffee that's hot... Butchest Butches (without regard to # or % of butches)
1. Tracy, California 2. Highlands Ranch, Colorado 3. Friday Harbor, Washington 4. Mitchell, Nebraska 5. Lafayette, Louisiana Least Butch Butches (without regard to # or % of butches) 1. Seaside Heights, New Jersey 2. Sunnyvale, California 3. Scarsdale, New York 4. Los Angeles, California 5. Frankfort, Kentucky Most Attractive Butches 1. Portland, Oregon 2. Galena, Illinois 3. Greenville, South Carolina 4. North Decatur, Georgia 5. Eliot, Maine Silliest Butches 1. YOU, if you're still reading this. April Fool's! Heehee. Hope you enjoyed scouring the fictitious stats above. I just made 'em up! Have a terrific day. Love, BW Okay, I'm hesitating to post this because it makes me seem way more curmudgeonly than I actually (think I) am. Oh well. I should also say that at least for me, and maybe for other people, none of this applies if you're a close friend or close family member. It's more when acquaintances or (godfuhbid) strangers offer their advice that I blanch. What you say: There are soooo many options for people who want kids!
What I hear: You're probably too stupid to figure this out, but you can procreate without having sex with a man! What you say: But you'd be such a good parent! What I think: I'd also be a good race car driver, occupational therapist, or professional shoeshiner. Natural predilection does not a destiny make. What you say: Some people are too selfish to have kids. What I hear: You are selfish and shallow. Unless you have kids. In which case all is forgiven. But I thought better of you. Now you just make me sad. What you say: You could always adopt! What I think: No sh*t. What you say: Lots of lesbians are having kids these days! What I think: Lots of lesbians are also chain-smokers, alcoholics, drug users, glue-sniffers, head cases, doctors, truckers, and couch potatoes. So? What you (usually another lesbian) say: My mom didn't fully accept my partner and me until we had kids. But now that she has grandkids, we're closer than ever. What I hear: Your mother will never fully love you until you procreate. What you say: There are SO many children out there who need good homes. What I think: So why didn't you adopt instead of having biological kids? Oh--you're scared you'll end up with a crack baby or a psychopath from a Russian orphanage who's never been held? But I should go for it? Thaaanks. What you say: NO one thinks they want kids. Then they have them and they're glad they did. What I think: Am I the only person in the world who's ever heard of cognitive dissonance? What you say: Are you thinking of having a family? What I think: So, me + DGF + slightly swollen canine ≠ "family?" Screw you. What you say: You haven't lived a full life unless you have kids. What I hear: Your life is invalid. There's only one way to redeem yourself, and it smells like diapers. What you say: You may think you know what love is, but you don't really know what love is until you have kids. What I hear: All your feelings are pathetic, shallow, and invalid--mere shadows of what they could have been. Alas! Okay, so I'm being melodramatic, but you get the idea. I actually don't think the pressure is nearly as bad for lesbian and gay couples who don't want kids, as it is for straight couples who don't want kids. People basically assume that opposite-sex couples are going to have kids, and that if they don't, it's because there's something biologically "wrong" with them. Instead of just getting asked, "Do you think you'll have kids someday?", people will ask questions like, "Do you think you're going to... start trying?" OMG. Well, folks, it's been nearly FIVE months since I talked to any of you. But lest you thought I'd fallen off the face of the earth, I'm popping my butch little head up to say hello. It's not that work has abated--goodness knows THAT hasn't happened--nor that I think I can write every day, or even every week. Rather, I sort of thought I'd know when it was time for me to come back, even occasionally, and it's time.
In the spirit of re-acquainting ourselves, I'm going to list some things that have happened to me in the last five months. Then YOU list a couple of things that have happened to YOU in the last five months. Deal? Okay, here's mine:
So that's me in a nutshell. I have lots, lots, lots more to say. I'm officially back, although "back" may mean a once-a-month posting. I don't know yet. But I do know that I missed you. I probably won't be back to answering emails or Facebook posts for a while, but I'll try to be in touch whenever I can! :) Your turn! What's new with you guys? I just received a note from a reader who's having trouble communicating with her butch DGF ("dear girlfriend"). She asked if I could "translate" some common butch idioms. One mistake many butch-lovers make is assuming that butches are just like the stereotypes they have of heterosexual men. If you Google "what men really mean," you'll find hundreds of sites purporting to explain exactly this. Let's leave aside for a moment the offensive nature of most of those articles, and assume for the sake of argument that there's some truth to them. Even so, [non-male-identified] butches are not men, and "rules" of "understanding men" apply to us only sometimes. It's impossible to write something like this without giant, whopping dollops of stereotype. I figure I'll get flak for this, but I went ahead and made a list anyway. I'll will be interested to learn whether any of it resonates with you.
(Writing this, I realized that while I would like to think that I'm incredibly straightforward and literal practically to a fault, that's not always true...) How about you? Did any of these examples sound familiar? What's some other "butchspeak" that needs to be translated? |
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