Tag Archives: Butch Mystique

Where Does the ‘Criminal Black Lesbian’ Stereotype Come From?

While there is certainly no shortage of negative beliefs regarding black people, those that are particularly prevalent are the ideas that black people are violent, aggressive, and destined for a life of crime.

These stereotypes in particular seems to be regarded of black lesbians too, especially those who seem to appear more ‘masculine’.

The group of black lesbians convicted in a 2006 Greenwich Village assault case know this well as despite the women’s argument that they were acting in self-defence against a man that both catcalled and threatened them, they were arrested and charged with felony gang assault and attempted murder.

An Equity Project report also states that 40% of girls in the juvenile justice system are lesbian, bisexual or transgender and 85% are girls of colour as well.

With with many of these girls finding themselves in the system for non-criminal acts (e.g “running away from home or breaking school rules”), it’s believed that the criminal black lesbian stereotype may have been a large factor.

NPR has investigated the origin of the criminal black lesbian stereotype, with the publication noting that it stretches back to the early 20th century.

The publication cites a recent Journal of African American History article by Cookie Woolner, a historian and teaching fellow at Kalamazoo College, which points to newspaper reports about murders and other crimes committed by black women in relationships with other women.

The underlying tone of the articles seemed to be that their crimes were a direct result of their “perverted affections” and their “insanity”, and they were also referred to as a “class of perverts”.

In the decades to follow, things didn’t get much better. NPR explains that in the 1940s and 50s, women’s prisons became “synonymous with lesbianism” and although “the stereotype of the aggressive lesbian eventually grew to include working-class white women,” black women were generally believed to be the aggressors and white women were described as “temporary partners”.

More recently, 1996 film Set It Off and TV show The Wire, which both feature black lesbians being violent and performing crimes have also contributed to the stereotype’s prevalence.

TV shows such as Orange is the New Black (which features LGBT characters and looks at injustices within the criminal justice system) as well as movements such as Black Lives Matter (which has helped to give black women a platform to share their voice) have had a positive impact.

However, with the stereotype being so entrenched, it may be some time before the worst is no longer thought of black lesbian women.

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Why Date a Butch Instead of a Man? (Video)

So we’ve all heard this before – why would you date a woman who looks like a man? Its cringing every time you hear it, but people living a hetro-normative culture can’t get their heads around this.

Thank god for Moushumi Ghose and Jenoa Harlow, and their fantastic response.

In the above video of The Sex Talk, they discuss gender stereotypes based on hetero-normative culture, our cultures obsession with fitting into neat masculine and feminine roles, masculinity and femininity ebb and flow, and attraction.

Mou and Jen are hosts of The Sex Talk, a web-series focusing on sex education, relationship and dating advice, which hopes to raise awareness about healthier attitudes about sex and sexuality.

Mou is a queer and kink friendly sex therapist, and founder of Los Angeles Sex Therapy, and Jenoa Harlow is a lesbian identified actor and coach.

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Androgyny – The Constant Confusion

My partner is possibly the most androgynous person I know. She thinks she’s a boy most of the time (except when the bins need taking out) and she constantly battles with modern day lesbian traumas like insisting on wearing clothes only made for boys, even when her little size 6 feet don’t quite fill the standard men’s size. She wears men’s boxer shorts (apparently they make her feel “free”) – don’t get me wrong, she has no desire whatsoever to become a man, nor does she strap her boobs down and draw on a moustache.

I always feel a bit bewildered when she goes into salons brandishing screen grabs of Esquire magazine as ideas she still gets charged for a women’s cut. I wonder if long haired guys (like David Guetta for example) get charged for a ladies’ cut? After all “lesbian haircuts” (in Manchester that’s actually the collective term for a combination of shaved and long bits favoured by stereotypical gay girls) are basically a gents cut – on a girl. If it takes the same time as a guy why should lesbians get penalised for not needing a curly blow? The blow dry part of my cut takes at least 15 mins – hence the extra I would expect to pay.

The solution for us is to send her off to a Barbers’. She gets to sit with other guys and get an excellent cut for under a tenner. Winner. Having reproached this subject further with another androgynous friend we discovered that inner city gays tend to go anywhere no problem. It’s in the suburbs that the confusion begins. So do you go to your local hair salon which is predominantly female clientele but you get funny looks and awkward stares, or do you go to your local barbers where you will get the cut you want but have the chance of being turned away because you are a girl?

I was amazed to also discover other difficulties androgynous girls encounter – girls telling her she’s in the wrong toilet, late night petrol station visits for fags resulting in the attendant refusing to serve her as her card said “miss”! Now might be a good place to add she has a whopping DD cup boobs…

Then we have clothes. Try and find a men’s suit jacket that fits in a healthy bust. Non-existent. Surely someone has caught onto the fact that a load of professional lesbians may just want to wear a suit that doesn’t come with girly trousers? And Topman must realise that most Saturday afternoons their clientele is half man/half lesbian. Huge gap in the market here. But would they buy it if it wasn’t predominately made for guys? Maybe that’s the whole point. How many of you have been refused entry to the male changing rooms? Apparently Primark isn’t worth even trying as the attendants just assume you are male and it is way too embarrassing to argue the case.

Being in public with my GF still shocks me at times. In the (gay) Village, my GF has gay guys mistake her for one of their own; in shopping centres men follow her into toilets thinking she is heading for the gents. On holiday recently a restaurant owner shouted “bring your boyfriend for a drink”. I was livid. Luckily my GF was not at all bothered as she chooses to dress and look like that. She doesn’t actually care.

I suppose we all conform to what we think we should be rather than what we naturally are. My late, and very wise Granny used to tell me to say in the mirror, “I’m glad I’m me”. And I think she is right J

Meet Nikki Eason, Creator of the Web Series ‘The Androgynous Model’

Thirty years old, Nikki Eason is doing something different and inspiring for the gay scene. Under the umbrella of her marketing company, Between Us, Eason has launched a web series called ‘The Androgynous Model’.

The series was created to help all people who struggle to be accepted for who they truly are in efforts of being able to offer a platform of change within the industry for androgynous people.

The Androgynous Model web series has gained attention globally in such a short amount of time. The show and I have been featured in the October ’13 weekly issue for Creative Loafing Charlotte, and the March ’14 issue of Curve Magazine. We have also had features on websites such as DAPPERQ, Iambalexander and takinoverradio.com to name a few…

My vision and the series was created to help all people who struggle to be accepted for who they truly are in efforts of being able to offer a platform of change within the industry for androgynous people.

Nikki Eason

Nikki Eason – Behind the Androgynous Model

Gotta Love a Well-dressed Stud | Butch Fashion Styles From Tumblr This Week

Butch Fashion styles grasp the masculinity of fashion with a sturdy leather shoes mixed with a well placed belt and a variety hair styles.

Although butch styles vary from person to person it is the overall masculinity that we love. From Techie chic, to Summer Whites, Jeans & Blazer, to the Dandy – this week Tumblr has presented the best of the best of STUD style.

Compelling Documentary – The Butch Mystique

The Butch Mystique (2003) is a documentary chronicling of butch african american lesbians living in the Oakland and San Francisco Bay Area. It is powerful as it is beautiful.

Directed by Debra A. Wilson, this award-winning short documentary discusses the issue butch black women face day-to-day. From what defines a “butch,” to childhood and family, coming out, relationships, sexuality, stereotypes, and society’s perceptions of them as individuals. In addition, because these are all African American butch lesbians, the common thread of race links these women together. As “butches,” they are often perceived as black men, which proves problematic when living in a mostly white society which fears black men.

 “…this film goes beneath the surface, beyond the stereotypes, to reveal the heart of what it means to be an African American butch-identified lesbian.”

Debra A. Wilson,

Butch Mystique is here to challenge those stereotypes by showing that butch lesbians may not fit within culturally proscribed boundaries of femininity, but they are certainly women.

Synopsis

Nine African American butch (masculine) lesbians individually talk to an unseen and unheard interviewer about various aspects of the butch lifestyle and their own personal lives. Topics include their look (clothing, hairstyles, lack of makeup, etc.), their realisations that they were “different” and their eventual coming out, their relationships with various family members, their partners, and other societal groups, the perceptions of society, and what it means to be “butch”.

You can watch this documentary on YouTube in parts. (The video quality is little jumpy in some areas but worth watching).