bUTCH IN THE 1950'S: LESBIANS IN THE COLD WAR ERA
The author of this source was Leslie Feinberg. She was a memoirist who wanted to write about her experience growing up as a butch lesbian in the 1950s and 1960s. She wrote a memoir which was a sort of bibliography about her life and what she experienced due to being a butch lesbian, which was against the law. This source was written in the 1950s. The butch woman had to be ‘street smart’ (646) and know how to avoid the police who would arrest them and humiliate them by having their names written on an arrest list next to the offense. It was a terrifying time for butch lesbians and ‘femmes’ lesbians because the actual act that they were committing was against the law. She wanted to share how it felt to be a butch woman who couldn’t express herself and what she had to go through while being a butch lesbian. This was Leslie’s way of capturing both the sense of isolation and pleasure that being in the closet made her feel (646). The source was meant to make the butch women who were in this 1950s world in which women of this type didn’t have the option to be out in public and dress how they wanted. There were places that these women were able to traffic in safety such as the gay bar mentioned in this particular passage. (647)
When Feinberg described the bar as ‘a society’ and the patrons as ‘my people’ she means that she finally belonged. This bar was a place that she felt she could be herself and not feel like an outsider. Being around ‘her people’, she didn’t have to hide and be ashamed. Considering she was very worried when she walked into ‘Tifka’s’ thinking that even in a gay bar she wouldn’t be welcomed. That soon was dissolved and she welcomed with open arms. As Feinberg discussed, the attire was far from the social norm of women in the 1950s. When referring to the other bar patrons as ‘my people’ , she was uniting herself with the other male and female ‘working girls’, drag queens, a couple of fierce-looking butches, and some straight male drunks (647). Feinberg was trying describe how very different everyone in the club was and even though they were it didn’t matter to her. She finally had a sense of belonging and togetherness. Feinberg was so happy and relieved to be able t have a place where she didn’t have to hide in fear. Feinberg had the place in which no one would look at her in a way of disgust but just a normal person just grabbing a drink. She finally felt that she wouldn’t have to worry about being a criminal for being herself and not be turned into an enemy by society. This was a time that did not favor butch women and this was her way of escaping that society even for just a moment and feeling a sense of relief.
Feinberg adapts to postwar gender codes in order to fit her identity by dressing down her feminine features. The reason behind this was that the butch attire for lesbian women was no accepted and they were required to dress just as a woman should. Butch women, in general, would reject the mandatory workday skirts and dresses for slacks or blue jeans, collared shirts or jackets, and hair cut short over their ears (646). When it came to Feinberg, she went to the bar for the first time dressed in a blue-and-red-stripped dress shirt, navy blue jacket to hide my breasts, black pressed chinos, and sneakers since she didn’t have dress shoes (647). This was common for butch women to use as a statement against the gender roles that they are constrained into by society. Butch women were technically ‘impersonating’ the other sex which was illegal so in order to not break the law they had to at least have three articles of female clothing in order to be left alone. This even didn’t secure their safety, considering police regularly raided lesbian bars, making them treacherous place for women who did not want their names to be known (646). This was a problem because many women didn’t want any one to know that they were butch or femme. It wasn’t something that was openly discussed over dinner in the 1950s. She was could express herself and do it in a way that fit her style of being a butch woman. By not conforming to the traditional gender roles she was able make a statement, along with all the other women who refused to be silenced and placed in the shadows. This was her voice and she decided to wear it proudly whenever she would dress in the ‘male gender’ clothing.
In Leslie Feinberg’s memoir it discusses about how Feinberg felt walking into her first gay bar. The reason why this source is important is because it shines a light on what butch women go through when trying to fit in and belong. It was impossible to find a place where they could truly belong and when they did find that one place it was a home away from home. This particular source helped bring understanding to how butch and femme people felt in the 1950s. It showed that being butch wasn’t a choice to get back at family or friends or even the government. It was something that they just felt was a part of them that they had to express. In the 1950s, it was hard enough to try and fit into the gender roles that were given by society but when you know that you don’t fit in them at all, it is constricting. Another reason why this source is relevant is that it shows how scary and illegal it was to be a butch woman. Even though this was the way society was, these men and women were still able to find a place even for a moment where they could be themselves and not live in fear of what he outside world thought because in this bar, it was their world and they could just be themselves in this comforting place of acceptance.
Source: Leslie Feinberg, Stone Butch Blues (New York: Five-brand Books, 1993)
When Feinberg described the bar as ‘a society’ and the patrons as ‘my people’ she means that she finally belonged. This bar was a place that she felt she could be herself and not feel like an outsider. Being around ‘her people’, she didn’t have to hide and be ashamed. Considering she was very worried when she walked into ‘Tifka’s’ thinking that even in a gay bar she wouldn’t be welcomed. That soon was dissolved and she welcomed with open arms. As Feinberg discussed, the attire was far from the social norm of women in the 1950s. When referring to the other bar patrons as ‘my people’ , she was uniting herself with the other male and female ‘working girls’, drag queens, a couple of fierce-looking butches, and some straight male drunks (647). Feinberg was trying describe how very different everyone in the club was and even though they were it didn’t matter to her. She finally had a sense of belonging and togetherness. Feinberg was so happy and relieved to be able t have a place where she didn’t have to hide in fear. Feinberg had the place in which no one would look at her in a way of disgust but just a normal person just grabbing a drink. She finally felt that she wouldn’t have to worry about being a criminal for being herself and not be turned into an enemy by society. This was a time that did not favor butch women and this was her way of escaping that society even for just a moment and feeling a sense of relief.
Feinberg adapts to postwar gender codes in order to fit her identity by dressing down her feminine features. The reason behind this was that the butch attire for lesbian women was no accepted and they were required to dress just as a woman should. Butch women, in general, would reject the mandatory workday skirts and dresses for slacks or blue jeans, collared shirts or jackets, and hair cut short over their ears (646). When it came to Feinberg, she went to the bar for the first time dressed in a blue-and-red-stripped dress shirt, navy blue jacket to hide my breasts, black pressed chinos, and sneakers since she didn’t have dress shoes (647). This was common for butch women to use as a statement against the gender roles that they are constrained into by society. Butch women were technically ‘impersonating’ the other sex which was illegal so in order to not break the law they had to at least have three articles of female clothing in order to be left alone. This even didn’t secure their safety, considering police regularly raided lesbian bars, making them treacherous place for women who did not want their names to be known (646). This was a problem because many women didn’t want any one to know that they were butch or femme. It wasn’t something that was openly discussed over dinner in the 1950s. She was could express herself and do it in a way that fit her style of being a butch woman. By not conforming to the traditional gender roles she was able make a statement, along with all the other women who refused to be silenced and placed in the shadows. This was her voice and she decided to wear it proudly whenever she would dress in the ‘male gender’ clothing.
In Leslie Feinberg’s memoir it discusses about how Feinberg felt walking into her first gay bar. The reason why this source is important is because it shines a light on what butch women go through when trying to fit in and belong. It was impossible to find a place where they could truly belong and when they did find that one place it was a home away from home. This particular source helped bring understanding to how butch and femme people felt in the 1950s. It showed that being butch wasn’t a choice to get back at family or friends or even the government. It was something that they just felt was a part of them that they had to express. In the 1950s, it was hard enough to try and fit into the gender roles that were given by society but when you know that you don’t fit in them at all, it is constricting. Another reason why this source is relevant is that it shows how scary and illegal it was to be a butch woman. Even though this was the way society was, these men and women were still able to find a place even for a moment where they could be themselves and not live in fear of what he outside world thought because in this bar, it was their world and they could just be themselves in this comforting place of acceptance.
Source: Leslie Feinberg, Stone Butch Blues (New York: Five-brand Books, 1993)
Quotation time!
" I picked up my beer and walked toward the back room. That's when I saw women dancing together, butch and femme. I almost started to cry, that's how much I wanted to believe that it could be possible, that it could happen t me." (647)
This quote expressed the true feelings that Leslie Feinberg felt when entering the gay bar. It was a moment that she now felt welcomed and included into a society that she could finally be herself. This quote shows that the author is a white female who is about middle class considering she was able to go to a gay bar in the appropriate attire for a butch woman.
Let the media get involved!
This picture is the image of what one type of woman Leslie would have saw when she went to this gay bar for the first time. It is interesting to see that each woman has a blazer or dress coat over a white shirt( usually worn by men) and grey or black slacks. This was the common look for butch women when they would venture out into these bars. When it comes to hair, as you can tell, none of the women have hair in their faces. The most common hairstyle is to put their hair behind their ears and keep it short!
Now, not all lesbian women were butch. This is a picture depicting what a butch and femme women looked like and the mannerisms of each type of lesbian. It is also interesting to see that femme women tend to stay in the traditional gender roles that women are expected to carry, while butch women are dressed more like male gender roles tend to dress. This was the cause of taboo and uprising because it appeared that not only were women wanting to be with women but some of the women also wanted to cross over into the attire and attitude of males. This was a big no no in 1950s society.
In this video, it discussed how and why many women choose to frequent these types of clubs and how they aren't actually able t escape the women or the men. When it came to women the female or femme women tended to go after the women who were butch instead of another femme. This was the same when it came to men. Men tended to run away from women and because of that they ran toward men who were dressed up as women. The main point that was trying to be shown was that women who are lesbian really just want a butch women and gay men want a feminine man.
This was one of many books that discussed lesbian relationships that were published in the 1950s. It was interesting to see how graphic some of the covers for these books were and the amount of lesbian books were. This was a way that the lesbian community used their rights for speech as a means of rebellion. This was not the only way, there was also a magazine called 'The Lesbian Review' which was very popular and drew the attention of the lesbian community.
The Stone Wall riots played a very big role in the fight for gay oppression to end. It was very interesting to see that no matter what society thought about gays and lesbian, they were still willing to fight. The riots all began after a police raid of a inn in stonewall. These riots were instrumental in leading the gay community to fight for their rights and end the injustice that was taking place.
BIBLIOGRAPHY!
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5m6u9hYMLU
2. http://sitemaker.umich.edu/lesbianhistories/tags_only&mode=single&recordid=0000c0a8de11000007d47c0a0000014149f57d95f4832698
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butch_and_femme
4. https://www.google.com/search?q=1950s+gay+women+audiobook&newwindow=1&biw=1242&bih=599&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=faB6VKe4I4KtogSvnYKABg&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAw#imgdii=_
5. https://www.google.com/search?q=the+stonewall+riots&newwindow=1&sa=X&biw=1242&bih=599&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&ei=tW97VISVNsLuoATVjIDQCg&ved=0CDUQsAQ#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=HQToP4yIkejpWM%253A%3BTisvI888wmRtUM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fnewnownext.mtvnimages.com%252F2014%252F05%252FStonewall-Riots-June-28-1969-2.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.newnownext.com%252F45-years-later-why-the-stonewall-riots-still-matter-watch%252F06%252F2014%252F%3B716%3B495
2. http://sitemaker.umich.edu/lesbianhistories/tags_only&mode=single&recordid=0000c0a8de11000007d47c0a0000014149f57d95f4832698
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butch_and_femme
4. https://www.google.com/search?q=1950s+gay+women+audiobook&newwindow=1&biw=1242&bih=599&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=faB6VKe4I4KtogSvnYKABg&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAw#imgdii=_
5. https://www.google.com/search?q=the+stonewall+riots&newwindow=1&sa=X&biw=1242&bih=599&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&ei=tW97VISVNsLuoATVjIDQCg&ved=0CDUQsAQ#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=HQToP4yIkejpWM%253A%3BTisvI888wmRtUM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fnewnownext.mtvnimages.com%252F2014%252F05%252FStonewall-Riots-June-28-1969-2.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.newnownext.com%252F45-years-later-why-the-stonewall-riots-still-matter-watch%252F06%252F2014%252F%3B716%3B495