Butch Lesbian – What is it? What does it mean?

Butch refers to an individual who identifies as masculine. Butch is an identity in the lesbian community. Butch lesbian typically refers to a butch woman who has a masculine expression. This can be either physically, mentally, or emotionally.

Butch lesbians are women who have masculine gender performance and expression. The word butch may potentially be derogatory for women, but most butch women have reclaimed it as an affirmative label for their identity.

Butch can sometimes be used as a non-binary gender on its own. The label is most often associated with lesbians, but it is not exclusive to cisgender or transgender women in the LGBT community.

Terminology

Within the lesbian culture, masculine and feminine identities (butch or femme) exist on a spectrum. Lesbians who present and identify as more traditionally masculine may identify themselves as butch lesbians. Here’s an exploration of the butch identity.

Butch Lesbian

The word butch may be a derivative taken from the word butcher. There is also some attribution to George Cassidy as the George Cassidy’s nickname was Butch. This is likely a misattribution, but has led some butches to embrace the figure.

Butch lesbians are women who have gender expressions that align with traditional masculinity. Women who choose to present this way might wear short hair, baseball caps, and other clothing that obscures feminine features while creating a masculinity in their appearance.

It’s important to understand that butches choose a wide range of clothing, hairstyles, and accessories. While certain articles of clothing, etc. may be associated with this part of lesbian culture, butch is a self-applied identity. That means a queer woman decides if she is butch. It isn’t a word that should ever be applied to another person.

Soft Butch

Refers to a butch who embraces some masculine traits but also has traditionally feminine aspects, expressing a mix of masculinity and femininity.

Stone Butch

Stone butch lesbians are women who prefer to take on a traditionally masculine role in their relationships. Some stone butches have strict boundaries regarding sexual contact that often includes an unwillingness to receive sexual pleasure from their partners or get “flipped”. The book “Stone Butch Blues” goes into detail about this aspect of LGBTQIA+ culture.

Not all Stones are butch. It’s possible to be a stone and a femme. The word stone simply indicates a lesbian has set sexual boundaries around giving and receiving pleasure. Sometimes, a pillow princess is referred to as a stone bottom, because she only receives sexual pleasure but does not give it.

Femme Lesbian

This is a lesbian woman who presents in a more traditionally feminine way.

Androgynous

An androgynous person is a man, woman, or trans individual who has a look that falls somewhere between traditional femininity and masculinity, or eschews both. Androgyny can refer to a person’s physical features, or how they choose to present themselves.

Stud

Studs are black lesbians who present with a masculine aesthetic. The term stud isn’t a slur. However, because African American have often been involuntarily stripped of their femininity/womanhood throughout history, the word carries some baggage. Because of this, studs may self-identify, but nobody should presume to give that label to another person.

Touch me Not

A touch me not is a lesbian who does not want to be touched during sex. They may or may not be butch.

Bull dyke

A slur used to describe a member of the lesbian community who is both masculine and assertive. Like other pejoratives, some lesbians have reclaimed this term.

Diesel Dyke

A member of a lesbian culture who is masculine presenting in the way they dress and wear their hair. She/they are often interested in cars and motorcycles. This is also often a slur, but may be used to self-describe.

Butch Bottom

This is a person who presents as butch, but also prefers being in the “bottom” or receiving position during sex. This term is important, because there is a preconceived notion that butch women are predominantly tops. It’s key to remember that sexual roles, gender presentation, and preferences. Femmes, butches, or mascs can all top or bottom.

Verse

Also known as a switch, this refers to people who are comfortable with being a top or a bottom.

Femme Top

A lesbian who is femme but takes the giving/dominant role in sexual activities.

Soft Butch

Someone who embraces a butch identity but maintains a slightly more feminine appearance.

Gender Expression

The way in which a person outwardly displays their gender identity. People often do this through their choice in clothing and hairstyles.

Gender Nonconforming

Behavior and presentation that does not align with cultural expectations for a person’s gender. Anyone can be gender non-conforming. It does not necessarily mean a person is gay, a lesbian, or trans.

Gender Roles

Groupings of behavioral expectations that society has applied to different gender categories.

Passing

If a butch woman presents in a way that most people believe she is a man, that is called passing. Not all butches feel the same way about this. Some perceive this as a positive. Others, believe it’s an insult.

History

It’s important to understand the history of butch lesbians as part of queer culture. This history is a reflection of the work and bravery of queer folks who stood up against rigid norms when it comes to sexuality and gendered thinking. It is a way to honor the identity and struggles of femmes and butches, and encourages people to embrace diversity in queer communities.

The term butch lesbian first gained traction in the mid 1900s. It described the expression of female masculinity from women who were part of the lesbian community. It emerged mostly in lesbian bars in queer-friendly cities like San Francisco. The butch identity was in a way a response to strict societal expectations around womanhood, and to rigid lesbian stereotypes. Women began wearing clothing and other accessories (e.g. baseball caps) that typically expressed masculinity.

Historically, butches faced discrimination within and outside of queer spaces. Butch femme bars, where members of the two groups would meet for social and romantic purposes, were often subject to police raids.

Butch Lesbian Culture in Academics And Literature

Leslie Feinberg wrote Stone Butch Blues a now seminal work that explores butch femme relations along with the experiences of working-class lesbians dealing with discrimination.

Lesbian feminists and scholars including Elizabeth Lapovsky published works documenting how lesbian feminism affected butches and femmes. Later, younger queer communities stretched the concept of butch to include trans men and other gender identities.

Among lesbians, the butch identity has come to represent a defiant pride in sapphic identity that flies in the face of constraints imposed mostly by heterosexual men who have historically set social norms. The history of butch culture interweaves desire, expression, and resistance. All these things have helped allow members of the lesbian community feel safer existing authentically.

The Cultural Significance of Butch Femme Relationships

Butch femme relationships have a unique place in queer history and have been explored in lesbian studies. They reflect expressions of gender and sexuality that both challenge and comply with mainstream ideas about relationships. These relationships were born of mid 20th century, working-class lesbian culture. These relationships provided an infrastructure for both partners to embrace their identities: femme as more feminine presenting and butch as masculine. This relationship dynamic allowed women to explore and express their identities. Butches often faced discrimination in society, but could find affirmation in their relationships with femmes.

The resilience and depth of butch femme partnerships resonate today, underscoring a legacy of defiance, love, and pride that continually enriches queer and lesbian culture, making these identities accessible and celebrated by new generations.

The Butch Identity in Pop Culture And Icons

Historical figures like Anne Lister were among the first to express a butch aesthetic which inspired later generations. More recently younger people have embraced butch and femme expressions. This is proven by the popularity of Big Boo on Orange is the New Black played by Lea DeLaria, and by the growing popularity of some butch creators on social media platforms.

Note: The character Boo is not universally embraced. There are lesbians who see her as harmful and stereotyped because of the characters brutish, sometimes violent nature.

Struggles And Cultural Backlash

Sapphic women who identify as butches have often faced struggles and backlash at their expressions of masculinity. They have been discriminated against, even been subjected to violence because they rebel against mainstream expectations of sexuality and womanhood. By embracing the word butch they have defied norms both in heterosexual and queer spaces. Butches provide a visual rebellion of societal ideals via their mannerisms, clothing, etc. – all in spite of frequent harassment.

Controversy Among Lesbians And Feminists

Not everyone every woman in the community embraces the concept of butch. Some believe that butches along with their expressions of female masculinity are harmful. They believe that butches often exhibit stereotypical behaviors and expressions that play into stereotypes and that embrace traditional gender roles. In that context, butch femme partnerships are seen as attempts at complying with heteronormative worldviews.

Additionally, the butch femme categories of expression may cause lesbians to feel limited to embracing binary gender roles. This may make it difficult for people to feel comfortable expressing their varying degrees of queerness.

Flags And Symbols

Flags and symbols are an important part of homosexual society. Lesbians, gay men, and other members of the LGBTQIA+ community display these items to show pride and signal to others. Flags representing butches hang in lesbian bars and other social spaces.

Butch flag

This flag was created by Tumblr user Butchspace.

The colors are red for passion and sexuality, red-orange for courage, light orange for joy, white for renewal, beige for chivalry, orange for warmth, and brown for honesty.

Butch lesbian pride flag

The inclusive flag for butch individuals was designed in January 2021 by Tumblr user nbgender. The colors represent the following: red-orange stripe for a variety of experiences between individuals. The light red-orange stripe stands for connection/community with butches. The small, light orange stripe represents non-conformity and connection to masculinity. The large yellowish-white stripe is for the rich history and butch femme culture and solidarity. The small yellow stripe represents stone butches. The yellow-orange stripe is for the connection/community to/with femmes. The orange stripe represents the inclusion of marginalized identities.

Butch alternative flag

There is a butch symbol that was designed back in 2014 by a group of non-binary Brazilians. It showcases a commonly used male symbol which has much longer prongs.

Butch symbol

There is an alternate butch female symbol that may also be used by people who feel their identity is butch.

Butch woman symbol

Carabiners And Beyond

Throughout lgbtq history there have been many clothing trends that would signal to other members of the community what a persons sexual preferences were without outing them to the world. This is because throughout a large portion of history being a gay person by any means was considered to be a crime worthy of prison time. Therefore people would use simple accessories to signal to other members of the community. A single earring could indicate if someone was gay or not depending on which ear they wore it on. Converse with specific colored laces could also be an indicator. Then there is the carabiner, a multifunctional tool that has served its purpose of signaling to other members of the lesbian community since the 1970’s.

Pronouns

Butch women typically dress in masculine clothing, but they often use gendered pronouns like she/her. Butches are often thought of as being interested in manly activities. Think interests like sports, cars, hands-on jobs. Some butch individuals can even use male nicknames. There are some butch individuals that bind their chest and prefer to use neutral pronouns like they/them, xe/xim, ze/zim.

Butches may be cisgender, transgender, or non-binary. There are transgender men and cisgender men that can also identify as being butch and use he/him pronouns. Butch men are generally associated with the biker subculture. They may be overly masculine with traits that may be thought of as uber manly. Their masculinity is generally over the top and can be compared to that of hyperfeminine in femmes. Butch men are often called leather men due to their keen interest in motorcycle culture.

It is always best to state your pronouns first and ask what pronouns the person prefers using in conversation.

Am I a Butch Lesbian

Whether or not you believe you are either butch or not is completely up to you. Most of the other butches have a tendency to lean more towards being masculine, however there are butch women who do lean more towards being femme. Ultimately it all has to do with the label you are most comfortable with and what you feel best suits you. So long as you are a gay woman you already have the first half of this figured out, the butch part of the label depends on whether or not you feel as if it fits you.

How to Support Butch women

Ultimately the best way to support butch women is to simply be mindful and respectful. Just like many other phrases used in the LGBTQ community there are some people who will use those phrases in a derogatory and insulting fashion. Therefore it’s important to be mindful of who you refer to as “butch”, ask people what their preferred labels are, and never make an assumption based on a person’s looks or behavior.

Gallery

Butch flag

“sky butch” flag

Butch lesbian pride flag

Butch flag by disastergay

Alternate butch flag

Soft butch flag by plurgai