ย Iโm tired of seeing posts likeย โbi women canโt use butch/femme because they canโt understand the fact that its a complex identity and expression of gender outside of aestheticsโ for me, being butch isnโt justย โIโm a masculine woman uwuโ and its irritating seeing people assume bi women canโt see butch/femme as anything deeper than aesthetic. It feels more comfortable to sayย โIโm butchโ rather thanย โiโm a womanโ because thatโs how i see myself. People act like bi women canโt possibly understand the butch/femme dynamic because weโre inherently โheteronormative.โ They act like we canโt have complicated relationships to gender and being a woman because we โperform for men.โ They erase our part in butch/femme history because they look at us as being traitors to the sapphic community. Being butch is the only thing that makes me feel good about being a woman. The way i interact with people is different when iโm identifying as butch. The way I interact with WOMEN is different when I identify as butch. I feel more confident and comfortable, i donโt HAVE to perform femininity and i know that there are people who will be attracted to me for being butch. They love my body hair, my strong hands, my muscular arms, my short hair, my unwillingness to submit to men, etc. Growing up I felt โuglyโ because all these traits are seen as unattractive but calling myself butch now feels like coming home, in a place where iโm allowed to be those things. Its a big โfuck offโ to everyone who tells me how i should present my gender. Its a โfuck offโ to men who think that because iโm attracted to them, iโm supposed to perform for them. Its who i am at my core, its putting my needs at the back burner for any woman, putting my safety on the line to protect people i love. Its embracing my strength and masculinity, knowing its okay to be butch. Any man who wants to be with me has to wholeheartedly accept that being butch is who i am, that i wonโt water down my expression to make them more comfortable. I will reclaim my history and you cannot stop me from coming back home to my roots.
