Thursday, March 22, 2012

The Gender Straight Jacket and Misogyny begin at Birth

I was recently made aware of this video, within it contains a question I would like to answer. See question below:

You have a very naive understanding of the child mind and its workings. Literally from day one the child brain begins taking in all that is around it. The child mind, being a cross between a tabula rasa and a sponge; absorbs, absorbs and absorbs some more. Which is why we so often hear it is much easier for a child to learn another language than it is an adult.


That being said, many children, myself included, refused total conformity to the GSJ, usually around age two which is when we first become aware of ourselves as individuals. One a personal note I ceased wearing dresses at age two. That refusal clearly indicates that I had already ingested the GSJ and resisted being the "girl" outlined by the GSJ and instead chose the be the girl I was. But in doing so, by age three, my sex began being questioned or mistaken by strangers (are you a boy or a girl?).

Around this time children start making friends and comparing themselves to their peers. Again, on a personal note, my peers were males, therefore that is who I compared myself. I may not have known the mechanics of male, but I knew they were "boys" while I was a "girl". Dress, play, the toys I liked etc would all be labeled "boy" per the GSJ. All went to help alienate me from the girl I was, because of the boy I was not. When we cannot be the "girl" we're supposed to be and are separated from the girl we are, we soon begin feeling like we're not girls at all. The simple truth is, as females EVERYTHING we feel IS female, simply because we're female.

I'll leave with this link for further reading, it might go to explain a bit more if I wasnt completely clear in my post.

dirt
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Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Lesbian Books

What are some of your favourite lesbian reads? And what do you think of the current state of lesbian fiction?

dirt

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Unraveling Butch

Upon first coming out, my first reaction (besides relief) was to find out everything I could about lesbianism. Considering this was 25 years ago, long before Wiki or Google (thank god as both are filled with misinfo), I sought out my local library and read everything I could find written by lesbians. I also delved into "Women's Music" learning about that as well and learning all about Michfest too in the process.

Much of what I read rang true with my own long held feelings, but where confusion entered in was in the few books specifically dealing with Butch/Femme. Clearly I was Butch, no confusion there. Clearly I was attracted to Femmes, no confusion there. But where I was confused was in the coupling portrayed in these books of Butch/Femme, especially the sexual coupling of the two. The Butch was again and again placed in a scene of what could only be sexual frustration while the Femme had the time of her life. The Butch I learned gained all their sexual pleasure from pleasuring their Femme, while the Femme received theirs from being pleasured alone.

Now being one who has always questioned beyond the surface, this whole Butch/Femme scenario seemed hopelessly a pale version of heterosexuality to me only with the Butch not getting hers. But again, always going beyond the surface, I too thought, thinking about what I desired to do to another woman (being lesbian and all) surely the Femme lesbian would have similar desires. I later learned not only did Femme lesbians have similar desires, those books claiming to be experts on Butch/Femme were written by women who later went back to men and now identified as straight!

Realizing that Femme lesbians desired my body as much as I desired theirs, while in the beginning was terrifying due to many Butch Shame issues, it was ultimately their desire that helped to unpack and put away some of that shame. In discussing and trying to dismantle dysphoria here I cannot fail to thank Femme lesbians, lovers as well as friends in helping me to work through the worst of my own dysphoria and the myriad of ways that body shame had negatively affected me and hurt some of the Femmes who loved me.

Regardless of whether or not you are a Butch who desires Femmes, if dealing with dysphoric issues, putting yourself into the hands of your lover can and will do wonders. Let yourself be loved and let go of the shame imprisoning your body. You may just wake up with a smile on your face.

dirt

Unpacking Butch Video
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Sunday, March 18, 2012

They be the Woolgathers-a Slice of Patti Smith

Patti Smith has been and remains one of the most influential persons in my life, a truly beautiful and constant inspiration, in both life and spirit. I ran across this reading of hers on YT yesterday, a must see. She reads from her newly issued Woolgathering. I purchased it in its original back in 1992 and have read it probably a hundred times since. The newly issued contains new material, of which she shares in this reading.

please enjoy

dirt
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