Excuse Me Sir

I just found this great video on Youtube about butches that addresses some of the stereotypes. I really like it. What do you think?

Hanging Out with Butches

Even though I am clearly butch-identified and even write from the butch perspective for a living, I'm sad to admit that I don't have a lot of butch friends in my day-to-day life. Most of my butch gals live elsewhere. Sure, we text each other when the Stanford women play basketball and meet up in SF every year for the dyke march, but really, it's not enough.

So I was super excited when my old pal Evan decided to start the "Butch Crew" after attending the Butch Voices conference in Oakland this summer. The Butch Crew is a monthly meeting of butches to talk about gender and identity and situations butches encounter, like bathroom problems or dating other butches. And it's awesome!

I missed the first meeting because I was on some lesbian cruise, but was able to meet up with the gals this past weekend. And I'm looking forward to many more gatherings. If you're in Portland and are a female-identified butch, please join us:

Sunday, January 10

Butch Crew PDX Meet up

Time:3:00PM Sunday, January 10th

Location:Flying Cat Coffee Co., 3041 SE Division St. Portland.

Butch Voices

What is a butch? Even though I call myself one, I sometimes have a hard time defining the word. Sure, there are stereotypes, and certainly, I like to play around with those, but I don't usually identify with them. For example, I don't really work on my own car.

I've been trying to figure out a way to define 'butch' without the word masculine. It seems hard to do.

Thinking about these things is just one of the reasons I'm bummed that I'm going to miss the first ever Butch Voices conference.

I just can't make it to Oakland to attend. But if there's anyway you can, you should!

And it's not just for butches. People all across the gender spectrum are welcome to attend.

Check out some of the people that are going to be there: One of my favorite butch writers, Ivan E. Coyote. Filmmaker Cheryl Dunye and S. Bear Bergman. There's even an event hosted by our other favorite Curve advice columnist Fairy Butch.

Go! And then write and tell me all about it. Tell me if you head any definitions of "butch" that ring true for you.

Butches of the World Unite

I have to admit, I'm really sad that I won't be able to attend the Butch Voices conference in Oakland next month. As far as I know, this is the first conference of its kind in the US. Butches coming together to organize, strategize, inspire and educate. Could anything be sexier?

We are woman-identified Butches. We are trans-masculine Studs. We are faggot-identified Aggressives. We are noun Butches, adjective Studs and pronoun-shunning Aggressives. We are she, he, hy, ze, zie and hir. We are you, and we are me. The point is, we don’t decide who is Butch, Stud or Aggressive. You get to decide for yourself.

One of my favorite writers, Ivan E. Coyote is leading a writing workshop. There's another for those of us who identify as butch and maintain a female identity. There's workshops for XL butches, butch safety and butches having babies. The one I'm really bummed about missing is the intergenerational butch panel.

Oh, I hope they hold the conference again next year when I can go! But don't let my inability stop you. If you can swing it, attend the Butch Voices conference in Oakland, California August 20-23, 2009.

And for those of you in Portland, be sure to attend the Butch Voices fundraiser next Thursday at the Egyptian Club.

Help a Lesbian in Need Before March 17th

On August 18, 2006, seven young African American lesbians traveled to New York City from their homes in Newark for a regular night out.. When walking down the street, a man sexually propositioned one of the women. After refusing to take no for an answer, he assaulted them.

The women tried to defend themselves, and a fight broke out. The women were charged with Gang Assault in the 2nd degree, a Class C Felony with a mandatory minimum of 3.5 years. Patreese Johnson was additionally charged with 1st Degree Assault. Three of the women accepted plea offers. On June 14th, 2007 Venice Brown (19), Terrain Dandridge (20), Patreese Johnson (20), and Renata Hill (24) received sentences ranging from 3 1/2 to 11 years in prison.

These young butch women have been targeted by the media and the justice system.
Right now one Renata Hill's sentence is under consideration and she needs all the support she can get.  Please take a moment RIGHT NOW and write to the District Attorney and ask that Renata be released from jail. Letters should arrive before March 17th. Here is a sample letter.  Change it as you see fit. 

For more about the Jersey 4

Robert M. Morgenthau
District Attorney
New York County
1 Hogan Place
New York, NY 10013

[Date]

Re: People vs. Renata Hill

Dear Mr. Morgenthau:

I am writing concerning the case of Renata Hill, who is scheduled to appear in court on March 17, 2009 for a potential retrial. Ms. Hill's original trial was stemming from an incident in August 2006. Her conviction for Gang Assault was recently overturned on appeal. Your office is about to make a decision on offering Ms. Hill either a retrial or a plea bargain where she would serve a
year in prison.

Whatever Ms. Hill's role on that night, she shouldn't have to go back to prison. Ms. Hill has already served two years. While she was incarcerated, she was separated from her young son. She also suffered the death of her mother, whose memorial she was unable to attend. I want to encourage you to stop further prosecution in this case, and to release Ms. Hill so that she may get on with
her life. I am writing as a person who identifies with the queer and trans communities. What happened during the incident involving Ms. Hill on August 2006 was terribly
unfortunate. I believe that none of the defendants who were changed actually went out there that night with the intention of criminal activity. Life is difficult for queer and trans people, and we ask that your office recognize the
constant threat of danger we live with.

Ms. Hill has been punished enough for her role in the event – both by actual imprisonment, and in the impact that imprisonment has had upon her life. I appreciate any assistance you can provide in preventing any further injustice.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Gender Play

What does being a butch mean? What's the difference between being a butch, a boi, a tomboy or a stud? 
All this and more will be explored in a new art exhibit in Los Angeles this month. 

From the press release:

The exhibit will show how lesbian life played out through the centuries; from two-spirit native people, to cross-dressers and tobacco-chewing women of the Civil War and, to stone butches, high femmes, and kiki’s of the 1950s, though the dykes of the lesbian feminist 1970s, to queers, bois, and Trans people of today. Learn who was ‘out’ in the Wild West and who was ‘passing’? Why were kiki lesbians kicked out of the bars in the 50’s? Why did lesbians go ‘androgynous’ in the radical 70s and tell butches to go back in the closet? What made lesbians go lipstick in the 80s? Who or what is genderqueer? And today, in the 21st Century, how can you tell when a lesbian boi is really a girl?

Damn, I wish I was in LA!

GenderPlay the Exhibit, opens Saturday, March 14, 3 to 6pm and will feature butch folk-singing hero Phranc, emcee Marie Cartier and performance art from Latina trio, Butchlalis de Panochtitlan. (Who Lipstick & Dipstick performed with in Eugene last year.)
The show will run for two months, March 14 to May 23, at the ONE Archives Gallery & Museum at 626 N. Robertson Blvd. in West Hollywood (entrance is on El Tovar).
The Gallery is open every Friday 4 to 8 pm, and Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 5pm.

Lipstick & Dipstick in Chattanooga, Tennessee?

I just got wind that Tennessee Valley Pride--which is October 12-19--is holding their first annual Lipstick/Dipstick Pageant. In the pageant, they will be looking for the best femme and the best butch lesbian in the Tennessee area.

Dip, do you think we should make a surprise stop in Chattanooga and throw the whole thing off?

If you live or are going to be in the area, here is more info:

Lipstick/Dipstick Pageant
Sunday, October12th
Images Show Bar
Pageant starts at 10pm sharp
$5 or free with Pride festival pin
For more info, go HERE

Top 5 Signs You Might Be a Butch

The other night I went to see a great movie at the Portland Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. It was called Butch Jamie. If you have the chance, go see it. It got me thinking. Recently there has been a dearth of butches in Hollywood. I had to go back all the way to 1995 and The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls in Love to find a butch in a movie. You remember, cute Randy Dean, played by Laurel Holloman.

And look what they did to her! They femmed her all out and made her Tina Kinnard on The L Word. What kind of message is that sending to baby butches out there?

So, it occurred to me that without any real representation, there just might be some butches out there, who are butch and just don’t know it.
So here are Dipstick’s Top Five Signs you may be butch:

1. Your favorite number is 501.
2. You believe a black leather jacket goes with any outfit. (It does)
3. You’ve never paid more than $20 for a hair cut.
4. When you say you’re packing, you’re not necessarily going on a trip.
5. Your gift registry is at Home Depot.

_{Dipstick with Butch Jamie director/writer/star Michelle Ehlen}

Butch Love from Team Gina

Team Gina, if you're out there, Dipstick wants you to know the love is mutual.

Double Dipstick = Double the Trouble

Well, it's been a day I've waited for...this morning, I finally met Dipstick's identical twin. Did you guys know there was another Dipstick out there? Mary, who is also a dyke (we MUST be born gay), was in town with her girl Meg and the other sister Laura. Mary kicked ass and reminded me so much of Dip. They look a lot alike, yes, but it's what under the skin--their mannerisms, they way they say things, even the way they hold their head--that really psyched me out. I only got to have breakfast with these two, peach cobbler (thanks Meg), but I can only imagine that they're quite the crazy pair when they really get going. Twins are so crazy. I wish I had a twin.

Which reminds me, have you ever been seen someone who looks just like you? It's a trip. I was in California eating lunch at an In & Out Burger about ten years ago when my twin sat down a few tables away. We were like ten feet apart and I couldn't stop staring. I don't think I ate another bite either. She didn't notice me, but it was crazy and it totally tripped me out. I wish I'd snapped a picture.

Goodbye to Tennessee

Her name is Lee, but I call her Tennessee, after her birthplace. She’s a tattooed soft butch with dyed black hair with just enough grease for a little poof to stand up in the front. Her voice has just a touch a soft Southern twang.

She’s my hairdresser and I’m still not over the fact that she’s leaving me. I remember the day that I met her. I brought my nephew into her shop for a cut. As soon as I saw her, I knew she was the one for me. I sat my nephew with the cute straight girl and landed right in Lee’s chair.

She was nothing like the last phoofy dyke who cut my hair. No hair washing. No hand massage. Just a towel around my neck, a bib and a sweet southern smile. She worked at a barbershop, but unlike some, she didn’t just pull out the clippers and ask, “Two or four?” No, Lee’s an artist. She snips and shapes by hand, suggesting and stopping every so often to admire her work.

“I want to look like a dyke,” I said, “But not be called sir.” She laughed, but she knew exactly what I meant. And she gave it to me. Every month for a year. Whenever I would show up at her place, there’d be a line. While the other chairs sat empty, stylists manicuring their own hands, people lined up for Lee’s special touch. I made it a point to always bring something to keep me busy during the wait. No matter how long, it was always worth it. Under Lee’s precise hands, I haven’t had a bad hair day in a year.

But now she’s gone. She’s heading back to the South to open her own shop. So, if you’re ever in Chapel Hill, NC, head over to the university section and look for a shop called Jackson’s. Ask for Lee. Tell her Dipstick sent you and that she is missed.

PRICELESS

1 MAC Studio Stick Foundation: $28
1 tube of MAC Pro Long Lash Mascara: $12
1 MAC foundation brush: $32
Dipstick sitting at the MAC counter: PRICELESS

A butch at the Make-Up Counter

If there’s one thing I love about my editor at Curve, it’s that she understands a butch. See, it’s time for us to shoot some new publicity photos and Ms. Editor had to break the news to me that my skin tone is not even and I need, well a bit of artificial augmentation. Don’t worry, she said, no one will be able to tell you’re wearing make-up.

I strutted into Nordstrom’s right when they opened, in my jeans and black t-shirt. I wanted them to see the real me. I remember the last time I wore make-up. It was my freshman year in college and I let a friend make me up to go to a party. I wasn’t quite sure of my sexuality yet. Suddenly, I had all this attention from guys, like I never had before. But I HATED it. Not just because I was a budding homosexual, but because I felt like who they were attracted to wasn’t the real me. When I got back to my dorm, I threw all their numbers away and scrubbed my face clean. I haven’t touched mascara (or a man) since.

At the Mac counter, I searched for a fag to help me, surely, he’d understand. But there were none to be found. So I grabbed a young rebel girl with dyed blonde hair with two vastly different make up styles on each side of her face.

“I need some make up,” I mustered out. “But it can’t be too feminine. I have to look like a tomboy.” Thankfully, this girl seemed to understand as clearly as if I’d worn my “I Lick Labias” t-shirt. “We’ll just even your skin tone out,” she said. “And some light mascara to bring your eyes out.” I was thankful she didn’t make me sit in a chair while she applied different shades and colors of god-knows what to my face. The other women in the store seemed to be enjoying their make-overs.

I said yes to the first thing she suggested and was out of there in ten minutes, trying to hide the bag under my armpit as I walked through the men’s department, eyeing the new Fall shoes.

_{$72 worth of butch make-up}

I can't believe I didn't make the List!!

The list of the Top 15 Hottest Butches, that is! AfterEllen.com ranked who they considered to be the hottest butches of all time and Dipstick isn't one of them. I mean, I may not be hotter than Shane, but I am butcher than her, don't you think? And hell, some of those women are straight. At least in real life. Sure, it's easy to play a butch in the movies, but try to live your life as one day in and day out.

I know what you're thinking. After Ellen's list is about butches in film, TV and music. So that MUST be why I'm not on the list, right. Well, what about my appearance on Round Trip Ticket on Logo last summer? Don't you think that would have qualified me? I mean nothing against that cute butches they picked and all. kd lang is pretty swank. And Joan Jett rocks my world.

But Laurel Holloman for her role as Randy in The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls in Love. Have they forgotten this little tomboy grew into the whiny, conservative and FEMME Tina Kinnard on The L Word?

It's okay though. The people who really matter know Dipstick is a butch who can't be beat. I won't be offended if you start a write-in campaign to get me on next year's list!