|
Back in 2012, I wrote a post called "Why Aren't all Butches Trans?" It continues to get comments, and a couple days ago, a reader asked a question that I thought deserved a separate blog entry.
In the post, I write, "A butch woman's masculinity is not different in degree from that of a butch man or FTM; it is different in kind." In response, a reader wrote: That is a very helpful statement, but I think "kind" needs to be expanded upon. Can you say how you might define "kind"? Would it be something like the difference between a different breed of animal eg. a cocker spaniel or labrador? Or the difference between a different species of animal eg. dog or cat? Or something else? It's a good question! Here's what I mean by "kind." Masculinity exists as a thing--a social construct we can understand and identify in the abstract. Even when it's not attached to a particular person, we have a social understanding of certain things as masculine. If you showed a random person a lacy pink tank top and a blue flannel shirt and asked, "Which one is more masculine?" most people would point to the flannel shirt, even if neither shirt is being worn by anyone. (Mind you, I'm not saying that there IS, in any normative or "real" sense, such a thing as masculinity or femininity--merely that these are widely-understood social ideas.) Still with me? Okay, let's take a concrete example: water. Even if we don't know what container the water is occupying, we understand what "water" is, right? Now consider a river; consider a lake. Rivers and lakes are containers for water, but the water has a different "feel" in each one. We wouldn't argue that one of those is the "real" container, or that one is more "watery" than the other. Nor would we think it was weird if someone said that they preferred rivers to lakes, or vice versa. We get that they're different forms of water. So, too, with masculinity. A trans man and a butch woman might both contain masculinity, just like a river and a lake might both contain water. They share a common characteristic, but because of who they are, they each take on an inherently different form. To take the analogy a little further, there are all kinds of lakes and rivers. There are lagoons, ponds, streams, reservoirs, tributaries. And there are bodies of water that--just like bodies of people--defy or combine or challenge or embrace the conventional definitions.
11 Comments
alex
5/23/2015 02:19:05 am
I like it.
Mal
5/23/2015 09:27:22 am
This is so good! It would even help in arguments about butchness within communities of butch women, which I get into all the time, even with my girlfriend! She, and others accuse me of not being "very butchy" in certain scenarios, in certain appearance, etc. BECAUSE I don't do everything in as masculine a way as some other butches do. Like there is some specific masculine level butches are supposed to reach, and those who don't just aren't butch enough (ugh). Thanks for the analogies, they're wonderful!
I like the explanation. There are many ways to embody masculinity as a butch. There are many ways to embody masculinity as a transgender man. And as a cisgender man.
Susan
5/24/2015 12:54:38 am
Brilliant analogy! And just like water, my "butch-ness", can run smooth and calm at times, or create waves...😉
LastButchStanding
5/24/2015 10:41:47 am
Thank you. I asked the question and your answer is really helpful to me in trying to come to terms with what it means to be butch or to be trans, and how the two identities intersect (or don't). 5/25/2015 07:02:37 am
Interesting, and really well-put. Thank you--and thanks for such a thought-provoking comment on the other post, too. <3
Vanessa Urquhart
5/26/2015 05:12:16 am
There are actually a fair number of FTMs who aren't masculine at all, and don't identify with masculinity. The real difference is that they're men, even if they're feminine ones.
Shorty
5/26/2015 05:39:57 am
I love your blog. Just recently found it. I am struggling right now. I have always hated my boobs and being "female" in any way always felt wrong. But I'm not very "butch", either. Yeah, I've got a short haircut, don't wear makeup and wear mens clothes. But, as my name implies, I am short--under 5 ft. This causes me to present as an adolescent boy. When my partner and I go out, sometimes people think I am her son (which of course she doesn't like!). As I grow older, this is no longer cute or funny to me. I am at a crossroads. Thinking strongly about transitioning as I feel I am transgender. I always thought most butch lesbians identified like me--hated their feminine attributes, but now I realize that's not true. Or is it? Do some butch lesbians hate their boobs and want to look more male? Should I just stay as I am and cope with it? If you hate your boobs does that make you transgender? 6/1/2015 02:31:59 am
Check out this post from the end of last year, where I talk about something very similar: http://www.butchwonders.com/blog/dear-bw-am-i-trans
thinkingOUTloud
5/27/2015 10:41:33 am
So too, there are feminine-ish transmen. Often the ones who are gay. Just sayin everybody's different for their own reasons and all these labels are just BS to get bogged down in and create arguments. I don't have to know "what you are" to know whether I like you as a person.
LastButchStanding
5/28/2015 07:05:01 am
Well, I certainly agree that one don't need to know "what someone is" to know whether one likes them as a person. But if a person practices their gender in some specific way (as we all do), then that is basically staking out a kind of political position, even if the identity they're claiming is an identity of "reject all labels". And, sometimes, that particular way of practicing a gender carries with it certain competing expectations. That's why the question(s) of the borders and overlaps between butch/trans identity are so fascinating and so painful. Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
|
RSS Feed
