Femme
What do these words mean? According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition, butch is
According to the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, butch is
0.o ok then.....
Butch is so much more than that. Butch, as applies to me and those like me, is the way we present ourselves to the world. We aren't female, we aren't male...we are butch.
We are the ones who will hold your door open for you and think nothing of it. We will never admit to being in pain, even if our arms are cut off. But we'll whine if you poke us, prick us, or make any sort of small hurt on us.
We can sweep you off your feet and show you the true meaning of romance and gallantry. We may write you romantic poetry that turns your insides to mush. (Example, see Love section of the Poetry page.)
We are the kind of people who have a quiet strength from within that radiates into everything we do.
Please note that these traits are not all inclusive of lesbians.
Butch traits are the ones that society in it's infinite wisdom says belongs to men. The butch-femme dynamic tends to be rather heterosexual in nature, in that the butch is masculine and the femme is feminine.
Again, these are general statements and are not to be applied to everyone. Everyone is different, and as such, to classify a group as something is prejudiced and closeminded.
Femmes are the kind of woman who revels in her femininity. She knows how to wield her power and does.
I do not pretend to understand femmes. Under no circumstances do I claim that. I speak more about butches because, as a boi myself, I understand them a hell of a lot more than I do femmes. I love femmes. They are the things that holds me back form going completely nuts. Though some would say they came a bit too late to save me ~_^.
Femmes are mysteries that I would love to (no pun intended) get to the bottom of. Femmes are the reason for my existence. In short...I love femmes.
People might think that femmes have it easier than butches. All I can say to that is HELL NO. We both have it equally hard. Femmes are the ones who are constantly asked "Why don't you just go and be with a REAL man?" I'm going to quote femmes here..."Because I'm with a REAL butch." They are harrassed by men endlessly because the men figure the femmes only need a proper man to show them how it should be. I can't even begin to express my disgust and sheer fury at this smallminded way of thinking.
There is so much about butches and femmes that I can't even begin to cover here. Go and look for it on your own...you will be surprised how much there is to find out.
Right now, the ways and traditions of the butch-femme community are in danger of dying out. There are very few lesbians in this generation who have identified as butch or femme. I currently know of less than five other butches who are my age(college age). My first femme told me she was very surprised to find me, since she was used to being the only one who was our age at gatherings and such.
If you ask a lesbian or a gay guy, college age or younger, what happened at Stonewall Inn in 1969, they would be hard-pressed to tell you. This is a travesty that MUST be corrected.
The history of gays, lesbians, butches and femmes must be preserved! If we do not learn from our elders, what are we left with? We have to learn where we came from and why we have such freedom now.
If you are a person and you are reading this, please...find out more about gay and lesbian history. Ask the older lesbians and gays you know...ask your teachers, your parents...anyone. Read up on it in the library. There are sites out there that have scanned in the articles from the day after the raid on the Stonewall Inn. Read "Stone Butch Blues". Watch movies about it. There are ways to learn, you just have to get off your ass and look!
History is passing us by and going quietly into the night. We owe it to those who fought for their right and our own...
Remember...Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it...so learn.