Stone butch
{{short description|Masculine lesbian}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
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A stone butch is a lesbian who displays female butchness or traditional "masculinity" and who does not allow their genitals to be touched during sexual activity,{{Cite book|last1=Halberstam|first1=Judith|title=Female Masculinity|year=1998|edition=1st|page=[https://archive.org/details/femalemasculinit00judi/page/111 111]|publisher=Duke University Press|chapter=Lesbian Masculinity: Even Stone Butches Get the Blues|isbn=0822322269|chapter-url-access=registration|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/femalemasculinit00judi/page/111}} as opposed to a stone femme.
Etymology and history
The term stone butch was popularized by Leslie Feinberg's 1993 novel Stone Butch Blues, which describes the protagonist's explorations of the lesbian community. A large segment is devoted to the tribulations of being a stone butch person, and the experience of being a lesbian while identifying with masculine traits.{{cite book|last1=Feinberg|first1=Leslie|title=Stone Butch Blues: A Novel|date=1993|edition=1st|publisher=Firebrand Books|isbn=1563410303}}
Bonnie Zimmerman documents a use of the term to refer to a lesbian who "does not allow herself to be touched during lovemaking", but may experience vicarious sexual pleasure from her partner's enjoyment.{{Cite book|editor-last1=Zimmerman|editor-first1=Bonnie|title=Lesbian Histories and Cultures|year=1999|edition=1st|page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofle00bzim/page/140 140]|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0815319207|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofle00bzim/page/140}} Zimmerman notes that this may have been particularly prevalent in the 1940s and 1950s.
Social role
The term stone butch has also been used in reference to a subculture or set of mannerisms,{{cite magazine |title=Chick magnets on "Gentleman Jack" and "Killing Eve" |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/04/29/chick-magnets-on-gentleman-jack-and-killing-eve |date=22 April 2019 |magazine=The New Yorker |access-date=1 February 2020 |last=Nussbaum |first=Emily}} as opposed to a statement about sexual behaviour. In this context, 'stone butch' can describe the opposite of 'femme' or 'high femme' attributes,{{cite news |title=Where do you stand on the futch scale? |url=https://www.gaystarnews.com/article/futch-scale-meme/ |date=7 May 2018 |work=Gay Star News |access-date=1 February 2020 |last=Mathers |first=Charlie |archive-date=19 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220519192545/https://www.gaystarnews.com/article/futch-scale-meme/ |url-status=dead }} although an individual can identify with both categories.{{cite web |url=https://www.bustle.com/p/based-on-lgbtq-style-terms-ive-never-been-able-to-put-a-label-the-type-of-lesbian-i-am-16968485 |title=Based on LGBTQ+ style terms, I've never been able to put a label the type of lesbian I am |publisher=Bustle |date=5 April 2019 |access-date=1 February 2020}}
Stone butch identities can overlap with non-binary gender identities and transgender masculine identities among lesbians.{{cite news |title=The struggles of rejecting the gender binary |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/04/magazine/gender-nonbinary.html |date=4 June 2019 |work=The New York Times Magazine |access-date=1 February 2020 |last=Bergner |first=Daniel}}{{cite web |url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/life-culture/article/44110/1/andrea-lawlor-paul-takes-the-form-of-a-mortal-girl-book-interview |title=Andrea Lawlor explores the wild possibilities of sexual-shapeshifting |publisher=Dazed |date=18 April 2019 |access-date=1 February 2020}}{{cite web |url=https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/lesbian-slang-terms-definitions#slide-8 |title=17 lesbian slang terms every baby gay needs to learn |publisher=Refinery 29 |date=30 March 2018 |access-date=1 February 2020}}{{cite journal |last=Ormiston |first=Wendy |title=Stone butch celebration: A Transgender-inspired revolution in academia |pages=198–216 |date=July 1996 |doi=10.17763/haer.66.2.46r7n64515203412 |journal=Harvard Educational Review |volume=66 |issue=2}} The sociologist Sara Crawley has written that, while stone butch and masculine transgender identities may share significant characteristics, the primary distinction between the two is that lesbian self-identification prioritizes communicating one's identity to a specifically lesbian audience, whereas transgender masculine self-identification does not.{{cite journal |last=Crawley |first=Sara |title=Prioritizing Audiences: Exploring the Differences Between Stone Butch and Transgender Selves |pages=11–24 |date=5 October 2008 |doi=10.1300/J155v06n02_04 |journal=Journal of Lesbian Studies |volume=6 |issue=2|pmid=24807655 |s2cid=11095070 }} Similarly, Jack Halberstam has contextualised stone butch identities as one of many distinct female masculinities.{{cite book |last=Halberstam |first=Jack |date=1 January 1988 |isbn=9780822322269 |title=Female Masculinity |publisher=Duke University Press |doi=10.1215/9780822378112 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/femalemasculinit00judi }}
See also
{{Portal|LGBTQ}}
References
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{{LGBT slang}}
{{LGBTQ|culture=yes}}
{{Sexual slang}}
Category:Gender roles in the LGBTQ community
Category:Slang terms for women
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