Claiming Butch Identity

[Shana A]

Claiming Butch Identity
Filed by: Rev. Emily C. Heath
January 5, 2011 7:00 PM

http://www.bilerico.com/2011/01/claiming_butch_identity.php

"So, are you going to transition?"

It's the question I get a lot these days. Although I've been a butch since I came out at 18 (and, arguably, for years before that... see my toddler pictures), it has only been in the past few years that I have gotten that question.

I moved to Massachusetts from the South in 2008 and suddenly I was no longer a butch to queer folks, but instead some variation of transman. Many of the new people I met heard the androgynous nickname I use, which is actually just my last name, and assumed I had either already transitioned or was about to do so.

[VanOcc]

Dude, you totally keep posting articles before me haha

[pixiegirl]

Am I the only one who got irritated by the attempted transjacking in the comments? Seriously, its a butch lesbian talking about butch lesbian issues around being conflated with transmen.... makes me want to scream.
Jesus, if the IS/TS pissing contest hasn't alienated some butches who didn't care before, it'll be a miracle. If anyone passing through here happens to know anyone in that mess please tell them to stfu and apologise.
Just because it's got trans in the title doesn't make it about you. Arg.

[CaitJ]

Am I the only one who got irritated by the attempted transjacking in the comments? Seriously, its a butch lesbian talking about butch lesbian issues around being conflated with transmen.... makes me want to scream.
Jesus, if the IS/TS pissing contest hasn't alienated some butches who didn't care before, it'll be a miracle. If anyone passing through here happens to know anyone in that mess please tell them to stfu and apologise.
Just because it's got trans in the title doesn't make it about you. Arg.

I didn't get irritated by it, I had a good laugh.
You see, in every other mixed space, whenever trans issues are brought up, the cis people hijack with their cis bull->-bleeped-<-. Then when the trans peeps complain and tell them to quit it, they get shouted down and told to bugger off.
Seems like poetic justice to me.
And not that I generally give a rat's ass about butches, since they are almost universally horrible to trans women. The most rabid anti-trans people I've had the displeasure to meet have all been butches (i.e. the likes of Dirt).
They need to clean up their own community and its attitude towards trans people before I giving a flying frack about them.

[pixiegirl]

Almost, but not quite...
cisjacking of trans threads? Yep, happens, annoying.
Butch lesbian trans hate? So much of that it's not funny.

But, the person posting here by all observations appears to be an ally, and if the butch community is ever going to get cleaned up then people like her and who listen to her will be leading the way, and if you're going to hijack or enjoy the hijack of a thread, make it one belonging to someone who has or is likely to hijack trans topics.

Or to put it simply, you shoot the enemy, not the dude on your side even if they're from a rival regiment you don't get on with. Otherwise you lose.

[Shana A]

you totally keep posting articles before me haha

I wake up early 

[CaitJ]

Almost, but not quite...
cisjacking of trans threads? Yep, happens, annoying.
Butch lesbian trans hate? So much of that it's not funny.

But, the person posting here by all observations appears to be an ally, and if the butch community is ever going to get cleaned up then people like her and who listen to her will be leading the way, and if you're going to hijack or enjoy the hijack of a thread, make it one belonging to someone who has or is likely to hijack trans topics.

Or to put it simply, you shoot the enemy, not the dude on your side even if they're from a rival regiment you don't get on with. Otherwise you lose.

Sorry, but me enjoying the poetic justice of OTHER people transjacking doesn't make me one of the baddies.
If I go around transjacking butch ally threads, then sure, I'm a baddie with a gun.
Otherwise, no.

[pixiegirl]

Sorry, but me enjoying the poetic justice of OTHER people transjacking doesn't make me one of the baddies

Didn't mean to imply that it did Just meanderingly reinforcing my original point that in this particular case it's a bad and not particularly bright thing for the people there to be doing since it's more likel to alienate than aid.

And c'mon, bad things are usually the most enjoyable 

grr, now I have an image in my head of Oscar Wilde on a horse waving a sabre screaming 'for poetic justice'

[VanOcc]

@ Zythrya, you do, it's true. Been very educational looking for articles anyhow.

@Pixiegirl, from my lurking I would say don't get into an argument with Vexing