Butch Appreciation Day
Whaaat? Butches in the limelight.
Early 1990s. Helping my gal fix up her house.
Calling all lesbians. Time to celebrate! Why? Because in our big ol’ queer community the butch is critical and today is her day to be in the spotlight – August 18, International Butch Appreciation Day.
We all know why us lesbians adore our butches – they carry heavy things, have a relationship with tools and tool belts, wear Woxer shorts, etc. Suffice it to say butches possess a plethora of skills and a wardrobe that leans masculine. Her haircut is most often not feminine. The word handsome is used to describe a good lookin’ butch – never the word pretty.
On a grander scale, it’s reasonable to view butches as paramount to the understanding of gender. They call into question societal expectations of femininity and masculinity – redefining beauty outside of standards set in stone by the patriarchy. Butch gals resist restrictive gender norms, giving push back to stereotypes that mix weakness in with femininity.
And above all butches are a joy to have under our great big ol’ rainbow umbrella.
So here’s the question that comes to my mind. Why be a trans man when you can be a butch lesbian? I’m insanely curious, dear reader, how you land on that question.
Meantime, I’m taking a short break as summer dims and have no plans to publish more from my memoir. It was quite a journey these past couple of years writing and publishing various chapters here on Substack. Soon my time will be mostly devoted to writing, re-writing – assembling a manuscript for a publisher.
I’ll be in a workshop for the next year getting this all together, while also teaching a writing class through the continuing ed department at community college. This will be my third semester.
Additionally my plan is to write pieces to publish on “Oh, Kay!” Lavender Stories. The homage to butches you just read is my first offering.
Thank you for your continued support. And, if you would like to help fortify my writing, a paid subscription is welcome.
In gratitude,
Kay