What do you wish to learn more about in relation to butch lesbianism?
Always interested in learning more history, especially in other parts of the world. I’m definitely interested in exploring the solidarity and connection between butches, transmascs, and trans men. I have had a more serious interest in lesbian history and butch lesbian history more recently. And I’m looking for opportunities; there was a woman who spoke at that San Diego History Museum, Bonnie Morris? She’s a big lesbian archivist. And those are the types of thing I want to do. Like how do you spend your time? I go to these talks. I go to events and talks. I do what I can to learn more. And one of the things she talked a lot about and what you’re doing is very important and she would be very proud of you. It’s very important to archive our stories. And the way she put it was brilliant, she said: because nobody else is. Because nobody else has a vested interest in doing so. It’s not to say that they wouldn’t if asked but they have no vested interest in doing and you really have to take it upon ourselves to make sure that our stories are told and they’re archived, preserved. Listening to her talk early made me think that I have all these mementos from over the years: concert tickets, zines, that are in some way artifacts and I’m not a pack rat but I try to save things that are important to me and I do kinda want to curate some of those things. Its becoming more important as I’m going to some of these events to take an artifact and having a kid and having gone also through grandparents who have passed away and you go through their house and you go through their things that were important to them. And I’m starting to think if my own parents unfortunately at some point it’ll happen and at some point it’ll happen for my son. And they’re gonna go through my things and they’re gonna see what was important to me and what am I going to leave behind. I’ve always been a learner. I’m into the ongoing education thing and I do things that are interesting to me and I think that I tend to do things that are an opportunity for me to learn something. And a lot of those at this point in my life have to do with identity in different ways. I am always more interested in the history and like I don't know what I don't know. There is that issue, but I just absolutely love you know learning about how prolific some of the older gay clubs were and like we like to think that we were so repressed but like there's a little moments in human history, like late 1920s early 30s Berlin is a huge mecca or like you know there lil spots in New York and LA were just like a little sectioned off neighborhoods there were way more free. I love learning about things like that, just truly you know we have always been here in some capacity or another. I think that definitely that and just you know I am not necessarily expanding on the idea of what it means to be butch but continuing to seek out and see other iterations of what it means to butch rather than one particularly packaged version, like Lea DeLaria or everyone trying to claim that Ruby Rose is butch, like lets get a lil better than that. I mean I really don’t know that much about it. I’d be curious. I don’t know what I don’t know. How can we dress and act in a way that empowers us without feeling “less than.” Our history, not just US history either, and where we go from here. I want to learn more from the older community, so their stories and experiences live on. How to feel comfortable as me. I wish more of the forgotten and purposefully destroyed bits of lesbian history could resurface, even the most well known historical lesbians have had their work destroyed to the point where only fragments are left. I keep studying butch women of history, and enjoy this research. |
I don't know if I have anything specific but I'm always so open and I think we see this each generation right as folks are having opportunities younger and younger to identity, I love reading articles like eight-year-old comes out to his parents. I'm so proud that you're OK. And I'm proud of the parents for trying to be like what do I do, how do I figure this out and so I think we're just going to continue to see the evolution of these communities as there are like we have high schools now that have like where queer resource centers and I mean I'm hope we get to a point where middle school and elementary schools have them and you know I think it would be so huge if like our sex education around the country was like safe sex regardless of your partner, the gender identity of your partner. Can we get there? I think a queer community plays the vital role in that and so I'm just really excited to see where this generation takes this and we’re in this perpetual age we’re in this age of perpetual new expansion and understanding of like because you folks that redefine what it means to be queer in the best possible way. I trust you all; I don't think you eliminate those that came before you. But you know I think it'll be great because it used to be you know lesbian and gay rights and then bi, and it was like those three for the longest time and now you know LGBTQIP like this and I'm probably missing some even, it’s endless and so I'm just excited to see and then my responsibility as a member of that community is to you know try to keep up, to be informed myself because I understand the difference between intent versus impact. I know that if I'm not aware even though I'm a member of the community it doesn't give me a pass if the impact of my words hurt someone. So as all of this is happening I need to do my due diligence and be a good community member and be really open and inclusive and just being mindful of what's going on. Healthcare is huge right we're finding more and more now for trans inclusive healthcare right, which is vital, which we weren’t talking about 20 years ago you know in the queer community. It was just like can I get a doctor that when I go in for my annual check up and says how many sexual partners have I had and then I tell them I’m a lesbian and they’re oh it doesn’t matter. Like no no, sexual health is still sexual health regardless of the partner that I have. So those conversations were really different a generation ago. I have to keep up to date. I think I want more on, the further back in time the more I want to know. I guess I’ve got a decent record of butch identity for all of the 20th century. A lil bit in the 19th century. Before that it gets dodgy, I was reading a book but then I got distracted with work. I feel like it sort of talked about masculine lesbians on the side, but let’s focus on other stuff. A specific focus on masculine women who love women. Mostly there are a lot of books on my reading list that I just have to read: Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold I have not read yet and I really have to. I have to get to that one. There’s also Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers, I need to get to that one. I had it checked out from the library all summer and I never finished the first book I had checked out. There’s an LGBT library that I went to. Everything. Definitely the history. In particular I’D love to learn about Latinx butch culture, but I haven’t started to scratch the surface. I don’t know much about lesbian history. I know some, but sometime it’s hard to access that information so I feel like it would be good to know more and more connected. Why butch-4-butch attraction is relatively rare. More about our history. I know a fair amount about butch history but I'd love to read more writing and see more art by butches! The history. Not all butches like femmes. The ways in which masculine women express and identify themselves in different cultures. Why we must all fit into a boxed closed-minded category. It's the 21st century for crying out loud, why must we conform instead of letting us spread our wings and be individuals when ever possible. |