Owner, www.babeland.com
1. What is your relationship with the word or identity “butch?”
Being butch has always been part of my queer identity. When I was young my friends and I loved to talk about “what kind of butch are you?” Now that I’m headed into my silver fox years it’s just an identity that has sat well with me for a long time. And I acknowledge other butches out there as much as I can, with the butch nod or a “hi.” I feel a lot of solidarity with other butches. It’s really not easy being butch. Just dealing with people’s reactions and my projections of their gender phobia.
2. What kind of words and labels, if any, do you use to identify yourself?
Butch, dyke, lesbian and queer. Kinky. Some feel more comfortable than others.
3. What do you wish you could tell your younger self about sex, sexuality, or gender?
My younger self thought she knew it all, so cocky! I’d tell her to be more gentle and compassionate- people have a lot of different ways of growing into themselves. Oh and I’d tell my younger self to take more risks, and have sex with more people. I was not enough of a player in my playing years. More of the uhaul type, alas.
I met Claire and Rachel way back in the early years when I sold advertising for a local queer magazine. It’s been awesome to watch Babeland grow and flourish over the years.
I love the advice to take more risks, that’s something I would have loved to give to my younger self.