When I thought the trans debate couldn’t get any more absurd, the arguments thrown around by trans rights activists after the UK Supreme Court ruling last week proved me wrong.
I wish you the very best in your ongoing struggle. Butch lesbians were here long before the current crush of trans women and you all are here to stay, so keep writing!
I've always admired butch lesbians, it's the IDGAF attitude, I think. I fear that in ten years, a "gold star" lesbian will be one who has never taken testosterone.
I may be straight, but having inhabited the world of Radical midwifery for so long, I have always had access to the wisdom of lesbians - which for me hold something sacred - a real essence of what being a woman means. I wish you good fortune in all you do…
The insistence from trans activists that butch lesbians and trans men will be excluded from female single sex spaces in the UK following is probably the only argument they can think of, but it's not credible. Transmen are almost exclusively young. They will also be shorter than average men, and if they truly don't appear female anymore they likely won't use female toilets etc. And they can explain to refuges or other services their situation.
Transwomen, especially older transitioners don't pass. Pretending that gender non-conforming women will be accused of being male en masse is a fake concern.
They're reaching so far now they're in danger of falling over. Recently I've heard even more rubbish from them in their desperation that I'd ever heard before. And that was quite a substantial amount.
Faika - to me, you're a new voice on this scene and I'm so glad to have your lucid input. You're a pleasure to read. Thank you.
Thankyou for sharing your perspective. This man has nothing to add, just that I´m enjoying hearing and learning from voices such as yours.
I´ve recently encountered several very tomboyish teenage girls. They appear not to have drunk the kool aid and seem to be at ease in themseles, operating on their own terms and not in relation to boys.
As a young feminist in the ‘80’s, I met some strong and amazing butch lesbians working in rape crisis. They always impressed me with their confidence, moving through the world as gender-non-conforming. Sad to know so many of them have neutered themselves, metaphorically speaking.
I thank you for your clarity of thought and brave stance.
We are fighting for lesbians in New Zealand. We want newer lesbians to know about the proud butch lesbians (same-sex attracted) who are part of the butch and fem couples who are obviously NOT same-gender attracted. We, LAVA, were barred from displaying our history at the local Pride fair cos we know that lesbians are same-SEX-attracted women. So we are taking them to our Human Rights Review Tribunal. Our case starts in 3 months. Have a look at LAVA.nz
I´m going to add that lesbians don´t have a monopoly on being ´butch´ women. I well remember many years ago working with a very ´masculine presenting´ Irish woman who had shortish hair, always wore trousers etc etc. Married 20 + years, several adult children and she was a grandmother. She was very supportive to me and I´ve never forgotten her.
Feminine energy can manifest in all sorts of ways.
Thank you so much Faika for writing this article. As you surely know, but many others do not, trans-identified males have used *lesbian* community since the late 1980s/early 1990s as their terrain of choice for practising entryism into the gay movement, and succeeded, sadly, in dividing and conquering as many lesbians fell for the ‘be kind’ arguments.
I am not talking about what we used to call transsexuals, those cross dressing gay men who ended up medicalising their bodies into the desired femininity. They left us alone, and we left them alone. We could even stand in solidarity with each other on occasion. But lesbian space and lesbian community was respected.
What we are dealing with now, and have been dealing with for over three decades now, is an entirely different group of people. We are dealing with men who wish to colonise our spaces and our lives, for reasons best known to them. I will not go into the various pathologies and misogynies and fetishistic desires for control that inform this colonisation, but we lesbians know about them only too well.
So, as an older lesbian, I, and many other lesbian feminists of the left, have been dealing with this problem for decades, long before the transgender movement made the staggering institutional inroads it started to make from the 2000s. But those institutional inroads were possible precisely because – with the support, sadly, of many gay men and some lesbians – the transgender movement had already sent its Trojan horse into the lesbian and gay movement, dismantling it from within.
Keep strong, keep vocal, keep fighting. You are very far from alone. bronwyndrw.substack.com
Thank you. Yes, Butches have been the scapegoats for everyone, and we are not "masculine" but are what all females would be closer to being without patriarchy. Being Butch is a choice made in girlhood to say no to the fake "femininity" pushed on us, which men so revere. There also are a lot of posers who pretend to be Butch who aren't.
I keep asking women to stop calling us "masculine" or using any insulting male terms for us since males are our worst enemy and that further marginalizes us, which I think is partly the intention, as well as making Fems (especially het women) be the norm. It also affects girls and young Lesbians to move towards the trans cult in believing that if they refuse male-identified "femininity," then they must be male. (If any of you care about Butches, stop doing this.)
Where in live, in Oakland, in the San Francisco Bay Area, most I see playing at being "transmen" are Fem and many are het. In Loren Cameron's book, "Body Alchemy," about "transmen," all the "before" photos show the women to be posturing Fems.
In regards to Radical Lesbian Feminism, including Lesbian Separatism, much of our communities and politics were created by Butches, who can be seen in early photographs and articles and books, like Pat Parker (who wrote some of the best Lesbian and Butch poetry), Judy Grahn, Julia Penelope who published important Lesbian anthologies, plus her own books, and was targeted partly for being Butch), Louise Merrill, Lenn Keller (who co-started the Bay Area Lesbian Archives), Donna M. Lane, etc. Most have died way too young, but they still affect our Lesbian communities.
I've been writing about Butch oppression for years and in 1990 I co-wrote our book, Dykes-Loving-Dykes, which I updated in 2015 and is at my blog to all can read it for free, including our chapter on how supporting Butches supports all Lesbians:
There is a certain note, a certain deliciousness of the butch dyke that mostly only other lesbians know. It is absolutely steamrolled between straight male fantasies, "transbian" demands (same thing), and the queer-washing of the rich, unique experience of women who love women.
The Gay Rights Movement in the 1970s butted up against the stereotype that homosexuals of both sexes wanted to BE the other sex. We don't. The trans movement pushes to reduce us in the same way. When very religious people assumed this, we could understand how they think that. From the trans/queer movement, they should know better.
The notion that butch women (gay or straight) could in any way be akin to AGPs has always struck me as patently absurd, another naked attempt by men to use women as a shield for their paraphilias.
Butch lesbians exist in a specifically lesbian space though and are different to straight women who don’t conform to rigid gender norms and stereotypes. Both encounter hostility, but lesbians more so,because of lesbophobia
I wanted to draw attention to the fact that circa the 1990’s,Butch lesbians became increasingly more discriminated against within lesbian culture too. The rise in lipstick lesbians- the more socially acceptable lesbians bc ‘feminine’ - created more internalised lesbophobia and paved the way for some lesbians to believe they were ‘transmen’,rather than beautiful butch lesbians 💔.
The L-Word,for example,didn’t portray any Butch lesbians,except for one who ended up as a ‘transman’. (No people, Shane was not butch lol).
I think a distinction should be drawn between truly butch lesbians and short haired lesbians too. They are not the same.
I would love to read an article about all of this from someone more eloquent than I am.
Faika, Thankyou so much for this article. To me it’s frankly frightening as it is laughable what the trans movement is demanding from women. All this new and bizarre language/terminology designed to confuse the hell out of people. Keep it simple, biology is paramount and all women and girls must stick together to ensure that it stays that way. So glad to have found you, a brave woman not afraid to speak out xx
I wish you the very best in your ongoing struggle. Butch lesbians were here long before the current crush of trans women and you all are here to stay, so keep writing!
I've always admired butch lesbians, it's the IDGAF attitude, I think. I fear that in ten years, a "gold star" lesbian will be one who has never taken testosterone.
I may be straight, but having inhabited the world of Radical midwifery for so long, I have always had access to the wisdom of lesbians - which for me hold something sacred - a real essence of what being a woman means. I wish you good fortune in all you do…
The insistence from trans activists that butch lesbians and trans men will be excluded from female single sex spaces in the UK following is probably the only argument they can think of, but it's not credible. Transmen are almost exclusively young. They will also be shorter than average men, and if they truly don't appear female anymore they likely won't use female toilets etc. And they can explain to refuges or other services their situation.
Transwomen, especially older transitioners don't pass. Pretending that gender non-conforming women will be accused of being male en masse is a fake concern.
They're reaching so far now they're in danger of falling over. Recently I've heard even more rubbish from them in their desperation that I'd ever heard before. And that was quite a substantial amount.
Faika - to me, you're a new voice on this scene and I'm so glad to have your lucid input. You're a pleasure to read. Thank you.
Thankyou for sharing your perspective. This man has nothing to add, just that I´m enjoying hearing and learning from voices such as yours.
I´ve recently encountered several very tomboyish teenage girls. They appear not to have drunk the kool aid and seem to be at ease in themseles, operating on their own terms and not in relation to boys.
As a young feminist in the ‘80’s, I met some strong and amazing butch lesbians working in rape crisis. They always impressed me with their confidence, moving through the world as gender-non-conforming. Sad to know so many of them have neutered themselves, metaphorically speaking.
I thank you for your clarity of thought and brave stance.
We are fighting for lesbians in New Zealand. We want newer lesbians to know about the proud butch lesbians (same-sex attracted) who are part of the butch and fem couples who are obviously NOT same-gender attracted. We, LAVA, were barred from displaying our history at the local Pride fair cos we know that lesbians are same-SEX-attracted women. So we are taking them to our Human Rights Review Tribunal. Our case starts in 3 months. Have a look at LAVA.nz
I´m going to add that lesbians don´t have a monopoly on being ´butch´ women. I well remember many years ago working with a very ´masculine presenting´ Irish woman who had shortish hair, always wore trousers etc etc. Married 20 + years, several adult children and she was a grandmother. She was very supportive to me and I´ve never forgotten her.
Feminine energy can manifest in all sorts of ways.
Yes, she noted that.
Powerfully put. A truly excellent read, thank you.
Thank you so much Faika for writing this article. As you surely know, but many others do not, trans-identified males have used *lesbian* community since the late 1980s/early 1990s as their terrain of choice for practising entryism into the gay movement, and succeeded, sadly, in dividing and conquering as many lesbians fell for the ‘be kind’ arguments.
I am not talking about what we used to call transsexuals, those cross dressing gay men who ended up medicalising their bodies into the desired femininity. They left us alone, and we left them alone. We could even stand in solidarity with each other on occasion. But lesbian space and lesbian community was respected.
What we are dealing with now, and have been dealing with for over three decades now, is an entirely different group of people. We are dealing with men who wish to colonise our spaces and our lives, for reasons best known to them. I will not go into the various pathologies and misogynies and fetishistic desires for control that inform this colonisation, but we lesbians know about them only too well.
So, as an older lesbian, I, and many other lesbian feminists of the left, have been dealing with this problem for decades, long before the transgender movement made the staggering institutional inroads it started to make from the 2000s. But those institutional inroads were possible precisely because – with the support, sadly, of many gay men and some lesbians – the transgender movement had already sent its Trojan horse into the lesbian and gay movement, dismantling it from within.
Keep strong, keep vocal, keep fighting. You are very far from alone. bronwyndrw.substack.com
Thank you. Yes, Butches have been the scapegoats for everyone, and we are not "masculine" but are what all females would be closer to being without patriarchy. Being Butch is a choice made in girlhood to say no to the fake "femininity" pushed on us, which men so revere. There also are a lot of posers who pretend to be Butch who aren't.
I keep asking women to stop calling us "masculine" or using any insulting male terms for us since males are our worst enemy and that further marginalizes us, which I think is partly the intention, as well as making Fems (especially het women) be the norm. It also affects girls and young Lesbians to move towards the trans cult in believing that if they refuse male-identified "femininity," then they must be male. (If any of you care about Butches, stop doing this.)
Where in live, in Oakland, in the San Francisco Bay Area, most I see playing at being "transmen" are Fem and many are het. In Loren Cameron's book, "Body Alchemy," about "transmen," all the "before" photos show the women to be posturing Fems.
In regards to Radical Lesbian Feminism, including Lesbian Separatism, much of our communities and politics were created by Butches, who can be seen in early photographs and articles and books, like Pat Parker (who wrote some of the best Lesbian and Butch poetry), Judy Grahn, Julia Penelope who published important Lesbian anthologies, plus her own books, and was targeted partly for being Butch), Louise Merrill, Lenn Keller (who co-started the Bay Area Lesbian Archives), Donna M. Lane, etc. Most have died way too young, but they still affect our Lesbian communities.
I've been writing about Butch oppression for years and in 1990 I co-wrote our book, Dykes-Loving-Dykes, which I updated in 2015 and is at my blog to all can read it for free, including our chapter on how supporting Butches supports all Lesbians:
https://bevjoradicallesbian.wordpress.com/2017/09/06/chapter-four-2015-update-25-years-later-supporting-butches-supports-all-lesbians/
Yes, rejecters of ‘fake femininity’. Well put.
Yes. Masculinity is absolutely the wrong word.
Just brilliant
Thank you, Faika, for this thoughtful piece.
There is a certain note, a certain deliciousness of the butch dyke that mostly only other lesbians know. It is absolutely steamrolled between straight male fantasies, "transbian" demands (same thing), and the queer-washing of the rich, unique experience of women who love women.
The Gay Rights Movement in the 1970s butted up against the stereotype that homosexuals of both sexes wanted to BE the other sex. We don't. The trans movement pushes to reduce us in the same way. When very religious people assumed this, we could understand how they think that. From the trans/queer movement, they should know better.
They don't.
SOM essentially likened butch lesbians with AGP!
She is a heterosexual woman who has no business talking about butch lesbians or any in fact.
Lesbian culture is very different than heterosexual culture it’s specific to us. The coded glances etc is true
What isn’t true is saying putting on a pair of jeans or men’s clothes gives butch lesbians a “sexual charge”/they don’t. Confidence and comfort yes.
Hundreds of lesbians were justifiably angry and hurt over SOM lesbophobic comments-don’t defend her,especially against other lesbians.
This was really good article,until she was mentioned
We are not in any way akin to AGP. Or indeed men.
We exist in a female culture.
The notion that butch women (gay or straight) could in any way be akin to AGPs has always struck me as patently absurd, another naked attempt by men to use women as a shield for their paraphilias.
Indeed
Butch lesbians exist in a specifically lesbian space though and are different to straight women who don’t conform to rigid gender norms and stereotypes. Both encounter hostility, but lesbians more so,because of lesbophobia
I wanted to draw attention to the fact that circa the 1990’s,Butch lesbians became increasingly more discriminated against within lesbian culture too. The rise in lipstick lesbians- the more socially acceptable lesbians bc ‘feminine’ - created more internalised lesbophobia and paved the way for some lesbians to believe they were ‘transmen’,rather than beautiful butch lesbians 💔.
The L-Word,for example,didn’t portray any Butch lesbians,except for one who ended up as a ‘transman’. (No people, Shane was not butch lol).
I think a distinction should be drawn between truly butch lesbians and short haired lesbians too. They are not the same.
I would love to read an article about all of this from someone more eloquent than I am.
Write it!
Thanks 😊
If I find the headspace maybe I will!
Faika, Thankyou so much for this article. To me it’s frankly frightening as it is laughable what the trans movement is demanding from women. All this new and bizarre language/terminology designed to confuse the hell out of people. Keep it simple, biology is paramount and all women and girls must stick together to ensure that it stays that way. So glad to have found you, a brave woman not afraid to speak out xx
Here's my thought on this.
Any butch lesbian is more woman than a transwoman.
Tranwomen are men who have a mental illness.
Any man who calls himself a woman should be put away in a psych hospital.