#stud history

[the-sappho-of-lesbos]

Source: Boots Of Leather , Slippers Of Gold; The History Of A Lesbian Community - by Elizabeth Lapovsky Kennedy and Madeline D. Davis

[campgender]

from “Masculine of Centre, Seeks Her Refined Femme” by B. Cole on the history of the term masculine of center

published in Persistence: All Ways Butch & Femme, ed. Ivan E. Coyote & Zena Sharman (2011)

excerpt 1:

[…] that was supposed to look like, and the word never fully reflected who I am. One of my first conversations with Oshen T., an activist and she-pronoun-using stud, echoed this unease with which many of us take up the mantle of butch.

I identify as stud but, growing up, I didn’t know that there was a word, “stud.” What was more common was butch, but at some point, like in my mid to late teens, I noticed that butches were usually white women, and even though I did see some black butches … at some point it got really irritating and didn’t fit me. I don’t feel butch, and I don’t like that word, even saying it. Stud came out of me and my peers having a conversation, and I held onto the word stud. We younger studs from East Oakland started to gravitate toward that. Butch was white and older, and as young kids, we were studs. There was some age stuff, race and class. All the books were about stone cold butches … just white people. We were like, nah, that’s not us. —Oshen T.

If butch wasn’t the word I was looking for, what was it? Should I use dom? Stud? AG (aggressive)? None of these quite worked, and so in 2008 I introduced the term “masculine of centre” (MoC) as more encompassing and less racially and class-specific than butch. MoC also speaks to the cultural nuances of female masculinity, while still recognizing our commonalities—independent of who we partner with. The inclusion of the language “of centre” sees beyond the traditional binary of male and female to female masculinity as a continuum. “Of centre” is a way of acknowledging that the balance each of us determines around our own masculinity and femininity in the discovery of our gendered selves is never truly fixed. Masculine of […]

excerpt 2:

Unlike white female masculinity, female masculinity for womyn of colour is based on sites of power and systemic oppression—through masculinities of colour. The assumption that they can be resignified with equal subversive and revolutionary actions against white manhood is false. The ability to access masculinity pivots upon the ways in which gender intersects with race, and these gaps have been filled with many new ways of naming ourselves. In the last decade, the explosion of young masculine-of-centre womyn has created a demographic shift on the butch landscape, giving way to terms like “stud,” “boi,” “tom,” and “macha” in California and the South, “dom” within the DC, Maryland, and Virginia region, and “aggressives,” or “AGs” in New York.

excerpt 3:

Attempts to disrupt this sense of “classical” butch continue to rely on representations and cultural location within whiteness and white notions of masculinity and femininity. As Halberstam points out, there is cultural value in marginalizing masculinities that divert from the master narrative. Even though Halberstam is speaking to heteronormative masculinity here, these diverting narratives have the potential to “dilute” the “authoritative power” of white butchness in the same way. As this narrative is pushed into the mainstream queer consciousness to construct butch identity, many of our experiences are left out. Supporting versions of masculinity that we enjoy and trust, many of these “heroic masculinities” depend absolutely on the subordination of alternative masculinities.”

excerpt 4:

The title of this piece, “Masculine of Centre, Seeks Her Refined Femme,” is a heading from the first dating profile posted using the term “masculine of centre.” It speaks to both a historical legacy of butch-femme and a longing for a language different and new.

excerpt 5:

The emergence of this new language would not have happened were it not for the ways in which masculine-of-centre womyn of colour live their female masculinity through the lens of race. Our identity has socially transformative powers and there are still nuances to our identities—masculine-of-centre mothering, social mobility, and historical racial oppression—which shape masculinity in [ways that have yet to be fully explored.]

[that-butch-archivist]

"Lesbian Weddings" by Wendy Jill York

source: The Femme Mystique, edited by Lesléa Newman

[butchqueersapphic]

[justdavina]

Such a amazing transgender woman! She's just PERFECT!!!

[macbxth-pdf]

Fish Flag

Original Flag, Inspiration, and Palette by @estrogenism (Thank you for the permission to edit this flag!)

What does Fish mean?

Fish is a black exclusive term for a femme lesbian. This label was first recorded as a counterpart the label 'Stud' in a Masters of Arts thesis titled, 'A Study of a Public Lesbian Community' by Ethel Sawyer. Black masculinity is to Stud as Black femininity is to Fish.

The Flag: Symbols and Colors

School of Black Fish: In the original flag I found on my dash, estrogenism uses an image of a tropical fish to represent the body diversity among black femmes. I decided to go with a school of fish to represent the community among black femmes. Initially, I wanted the school to look like a crescent moon to represent femininity further, but I wasn't fuckin' with it.

Colors:

The darkest purple: Womanism (a feminist school of thought centered around the black experience)

2nd darkest purple: Black sapphicism

2nd lightest purple: Black sapphic history

Lightest purple: Unity between all fish (trans, cis, intersex, aspec, arospec etc)

Lightest pink: Subversion of femininity

2nd Lightest Pink: Vulnerability (????)

Orangey-Pink: Persistence

Red: Love

Recommended Reading

Femme: Feminists, Lesbians, and Bad Girls (Edited by Laura Harris and Elizabeth Crocker) [There are two relevant segments. Fish Tales and Fish Pond]

A Public Study of a Lesbian Community by Ethel Sawyer (This study was done by a heterosexual woman. Due to the time it is from, harmful stereotypes of both studs and fish are portrayed in this thesis. These misconceptions are incredibly dated.)

Note: Based on the reading that I have done (Including the original thesis itself), some bisexual women were involved in the lesbian bar culture and identified with the label Fish. Out of the 7 fish interviewed by Sawyer, 2 out of 7 (28%) enjoyed sex with men. That being said I don’t mind or care if black bisexual femmes use this flag. But please understand the difference between presenting femininely and femme culture within the sapphic context (specifically butchfemme/studfemme/stud-fish community) before using this label.

THIS IS THE FIRST FLAG I MADE SO PLEASEEEE BE KIND

Software/Website used: Canva (Design and Assets) and Coolors (palette picking)

[hooked-on-elvis]

July 1970. Elvis Presley during rehearsals at MGM's Studios in Culver City, CA. "Elvis: That's The Way It Is"

[aholotte]

Comparing Twitter and tumblr queer culture is so amusing

Twitter queer culture: reminder that if you’re an mspec lesbian every character from honkai star rail hates you (?)

Tumblr queer culture: does anyone know if we have butch faggot joy tomorrow

[leikeliscomet]

A Brief Look at Stem(me) History

Wanted to know more about Black lesbian identities and I couldn't find a lot on Tumblr or Twitter so I did some research on stem/stemme myself. I'm not involved in queer discourse like that but I've noticed stemme being compared with futch both positively an negatively. The term "futch" is a mash up of butch and femme and the OG Futch Scale was posted 17th February 2011. In 2015, it got posted to Tumblr and became a meme, then an accidental "guide" on lesbian identity. Regardless of stances pro-futch or anti-futch I wanted to find info on stem/stemme as a Black lesbian identity for gender and gender expression. The modern definition of a stem/stemme is a Black lesbian whose gender expression and mannerisms fall between stud and femme. I've managed to find definitions not only supporting this but also definitions predating the futch scale, both pre and post meme version:

"Stem – A person whose gender expression falls somewhere between a stud and a femme.  (See also ‘Femme’ and ‘Stud’.)" Stud is defined as "An African-American and/or Latina masculine lesbian.  Also known as ‘butch’ or ‘aggressive’." (John Jay College of Criminal Justice LGBTQ+ Terminology, Eli R. Green, 2003-2004)

"Stemm A stemm is a gay/lesbian female who dresses like a guy, and dresses like a girl. Person 1: Look at that girl, she looks like a dude with all those guy clothes on, she has to be a stud Person 2: Well she was wearing girly clothes yesterday, so I thought she was a femm Person 3: Actually she's a stemm, she's wears boy clothes sometimes, and girl clothes other times" (Urban Dictionary definition of Stemm by user JenniferHill, November 8th 2009)

"A lesbian, who identifies as a Stemme, retains traits from both Femme and Stud/ Butch lesbians. Stemmes are in the center of the lesbian spectrum of classification and identities. Therefore, it is considered natural or common for Stemme lesbians to share the same behaviors as women of two diverse identity groups. Often times, the Stemme identity is viewed as the “transitional” stage of lesbianism, when a lesbian woman goes from being a Femme to a Stud/ Butch, or (on rear occasions) from a Stud/ Butch to a Femme... *In this blog the characteristic and behavioral difference between a Femme and a Stud is conjoined. The way a Femme or a Stud dresses is not the only way she can be identified. They can also be distinguished by their attitudes, actions and the way they interact with other people. A Stemme is the in-between identity of a Stud and Femme. She is apart of both groups and her identity is subject to change at anytime. A Stemme identity is often referred to as the transitional stage; however, some lesbian women remain a Stemme because they enjoy representing male and female dominance." (Lesbian Identity: Stemme, Nell S., 6th Nov 2009)

"'one who could switch up one day, she could be a femme and other occasions dress like she has a li’l hood, li’l ghetto inside her; a stemme –  part femme part stud a tomboy'" (STORY OF INTEREST: Lesbian Speaks Out, Dominica News Online, April 12th 2010)

"Stemmes presented themselves one day as femme and another day as stud; as such, they were visibly unrecognisable unless they divulged their gender identity. Stemmes expose the amorphous nature of gender identity and are invisible – silenced, ostracised or prescribed a gender identity. Many participants refused to recognise that stemmes existed and instead described them as confused. As Shane (age 22) admitted: ‘Sometimes they [studs and femmes] think that we’re confused. We don’t know what we want to be.’ Stemmes show that personal identity claims were often at odds with community perceptions of identity." (Good gay females and babies' daddies: Black lesbian community norms and the acceptability of pregnancy, Sarah J. Reed, Robin Lin Miller, Maria T. Valenti & Tina M. Timm, 21st April 2011)

"Stem, described as a cross between or combination of stud and femme, is a label that was used to refer to a lesbian that presented both masculine and feminine traits and characteristics. Short Dawg said, 'A stem, for me, is a little mixture of a lot of different things. One day you can be super feminine, and the next day you can be not so feminine.'" (Labelling, Butch, Femme Dyke Or Lipstick, Aren't All Lesbians The Same?: An Exploration Of Labels And "Looks" Among Lesbians In The U.S. South, Danielle Kerr, 2013)

Videos

Who has it harder in the world of lesbians? [studs? stems? or fems?}, iRoqStarStemme, 10th Jan 2011

WTH is a STEM??, AmbersCloset, 1st Feb 2013

The Black Lesbian Handbook: The Stem, Channel 4, 9th Feb 2015

There's a lot more I found and I'll post each article and video separately because they all go into more detail but tl;dr;

Stem(me) is an identity coined by Black lesbian spaces

Stem(me) mainly follows stud/femme dynamics rather than butch/femme (but can reference it)

Stem(me) predates the futch scale meme

Stem(me) is defined by clothing but also behaviours, so it can be a form of Black gender expression or gender itself

[that-butch-archivist]

the documentary "the aggressives" about poc butches is on streaming and can be bought idk if that's useful or anything but i just watched it and thought it fit in here

It's totally useful, thanks for reaching out!! I've not had time to watch this one myself yet but it's high on the list for ... whenever I get a moment. I've heard really good things and all, and--oh shit it's free on Tubi ... HMMM. Okay. Well. I know what I have to see later lol. xD

But yes, anon is right--for those interested in seeing more butches of color, or just butches in general, please take a look at "The Aggressives"!

"The Aggressives" on Wikipedia. "The Aggressives" (free to watch!) on Tubi.

[fjordfolk]

i don't even think one has to go as far as to unravel the whole idea of breed, registry and stud books, because i know for a fact that in other animals one has managed to have all of these things without going fckn batshit

[romanceyourdemons]

saw a video of a middle school percussion class playing crazy train on the xylophones which absolutely rules, but someone in the comments was saying “this is what kids should be learning in school instead of gender.” sir have you SEEN the metal stars of 70s and 80s?? you could probably learn more about gender nonconformity and drag from glam rock and heavy metal bands than you would in a middle school history class that dedicates half a lecture to stonewall or a middle school health class that dedicates half a lecture to gender and sexuality. i certainly know i did

[fresherfriut]

[macbxth-pdf]

A little tidbit of knowledge for all the black sapphics who may come across my blog

Source: Dagger: On Butch Women ( Edited by Lily Burana, Roxxie and Linnea Due )

Passage: The Myth and Tradition of the Black Bulldagger by SDiane A Bogus (pg 29-36 in the physical copy, pgs 30-37 on the pdf)

Mutuals who I think would like this post: @femmepire-butchbiter @nsslaughter @cobwebgf @blackhighfemme @brownsugarbunny @cottagecorewitchebitche

[campgender]

a Black fem (Arlette) & stud (Jodi) on racism from white butches & fems in the 1950s

from Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold: The History of a Lesbian Community by Elizabeth Lapovsky Kennedy & Madeline D. Davis (1994)

excerpt 1:

“When we started going in there, we found out how really prejudiced other white gay kids were. They didn’t even want to talk to us, and they looked at us with resentment. … Well at Bingo’s we would always sit in a booth. They would have the bar, a lot of them would look at us and roll their eyes. So we decided that we were going to get some of these to be our friends no matter what we had to do. One thing that drew them was the fact that we would get up and dance. Then some of them would say, ��Hey, I like that, teach us how to do that.’” (Arlette)

excerpt 2:

Jodi remembers that the presence of Black studs made many white butches nervous: “Some of the stuff that happened was so typically racist, it was so ridiculous. I mean it was like Black studs were coming into the bar, people would just kind of put their arm around their women … [as if] they were just coming in there to snatch up their women.”

excerpt 3:

White lesbians also attended [house parties] but not in large numbers. This was resented by those Black lesbians who wanted a racially mixed community. “White kids started coming. Now they come up with, ‘that neighborhood,’ which I resent. Because there’s no such neighborhood that anybody’s gonna attack you. I get mad at that. ‘Well where do you live? I don’t want to come over there.’ What do you mean you don’t want to come over there?” (Arlette).

[official-oshun]

Dykes to Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel, 1987