A quest for authenticity: contemporary butch gender

Sex Roles: A Journal of Research,  May, 2004  by Heidi M. Levitt,  Katherine R. Hiestand

• E-mail
• Print
• Link

Butch Perceptions of Gender: Butch as Beyond Masculinity or Femininity

Respondents described the construct of "butchness" as having a specific meaning formed within the lesbian community. Although this identity was seen as socially derived, its associated characteristics were not (see Table II).

    It's how I'm defined in lesbian culture by the lesbian community and
    I don't have a problem with that. But I can identify as butch too.
    Whether the label is there or not. I'm going to be who I am. The
    label's not shaping me ... It's the only way I can be, I guess....
    The clothes that I wear and the way I carry myself, or whatever, are
    that way. Because that's unique, people label it as butch. But it's
    just. I didn't strive to be butch.... I just happen to fall into
    that category. (P-01)

When asked to describe what it means to be butch, participants found the meaning difficult to pin down. They said that it is not located in any one trait, such as how strong a woman is or how she dresses or looks. The most common response (given by six participants) was that butchness is a certain energy or essence--one more commonly associated in our culture with masculinity. This energy expressed one's gender and composed a core aspect of the self, which makes butch a primary identifier for some.

Many respondents described discomfort at the thought of being feminine, which was experienced as a betrayal of their butch gender. Dress codes or external pressures that forced them to appear feminine evoked feelings of embarrassment, weakness, and vulnerability--just as many women might feel if made to wear clothing (e.g., pink frilly dresses) that was discordant with their own sense of their femininity. Despite the high levels of discomfort with femininity, however, all participants expressed contentment with being women. Indeed, their identities as butch enabled them to identify as women by allowing them to be female yet still prize their internal sense of gender. One woman described this process of realization:

    I was just watching them [other butch women]. I was just like. "Wow.
    She's a woman." You know, she was--but she also was a woman who
    would get mistaken as a man.... But when I looked at her. I was
    like. "Yeah. She's a woman though. She's a woman." And that meant
    something. It wasn't like sexual or anything of that nature. It was
    just like. "Wow. I can be a woman and be who I am. I always thought
    that being who I was meant that I was trying to be a guy: and I get
    mistaken as 'sir' often. But it doesn't bother me like it used to.
    Because I know that I am a woman. Just a different kind." (P-04)

By owning their butch gender, participants were able to identify strongly as female and still be authentic to their sense of self. Although a number of participants had considered a sex change at an earlier point in their lives, because they had found a community that supported the expression of their butch gender, these considerations now seemed unnecessary.