#108 June waiting in line for Pariah

#107 Brenda waiting in line for Pariah (Single and a Self-Identified Stud)

I knew Brenda was from the East Coast when I asked her if she identified as butch and she replied that she was a stud! Love it. And, yes, she's single.

#106 Stacie waiting in line for Pariah

#105 J-Wo waiting in line for Pariah

#104 Tiffany in line for Pariah

#103 Sehline in line for Pariah

#102 Fan in line for Pariah (a must-see movie, coming in Dec)

Tonight I went to see Pariah, invited by the highly enthralling Monica from Sista2Sista in Oakland. It was a special sneak preview of this film which opens in theaters to a wider distribution in December. What a film! Coming of age in a way you've not seen before. The story is familiar, the people make it more than the sum of its parts. Truly something. It will go down as one of my favorite movies ever.

And waiting in line wasn't half bad either!

#101 Kacy

From our first-time submitter, Moore, in Los Angeles, who has this to say:

"Tonight at the Writer's Guild in Los Angeles (at a reception after a panel on queer youth on TV), I spotted Kacy. I introduced myself, confirmed that she self-identifies as butch and found out that she's a screenwriter working on dark, sexy films. With butches, of course. :)

Congratulations Moore, for asking the question!

#100 Jess

Valaida, butch sighter extraordinaire, had this to say:

"While I was butch sighting Christina (#99), Jess appeared intrigued. I let her know I was coming to her next after she tried to jump into Christina's picture.  Jess answered that she identifies as butch, 'among other things.' You can find her stocking produce and salads at Trader Joes. She only had a little time to prepare for this picture, but we were able to flatten some of her hair that was mussed by wearing her hood. Happy national coming out day!"

#99 Christina

Valaida, I love your dedication to butch sighting! Thanks for this:

"This is Christina. I butch sighted her shopping for lunch at Trader Joes in SF. When I asked if I could ask her a question, she quickly informed me that she didn't work there. (She works next door.) She identifies as butch and was happy to have her picture taken."

#98 Jessica in NYC

From ever vigilant Valaida, who says:

"This is Jessica. I butch sighted her and her femme Crystal crossing Bleeker street at Christopher. She said she guessed she was butch but Crystal said she definitely identified as femme. Yay, vacation sightings!"

#97 CJ at The Bowl

I saw CJ a few weeks ago, but she was talking to a customer and it wasn't a good time to approach her and ask her if she identified as a butch. Today, however, was different. She was by the deli counter when I walked by and so I asked. She looked taken aback for a brief moment and then said, "Is that a question?" which I thought meant I had crossed the line. But what it really meant was, "Are you kidding? You have to ask?" As it turned out, she appreciated being asked and I'm, as always, very appreciative of another butch willing to be sighted.

#96 Butch Poppa Spike

Karen and Sasha were shopping and look what happened! They ran into a butch and her kid. Here's what Karen has to say,

"We were shopping and saw the cute child and the butch, who obviously adored her. I approached her and asked if she identified as butch. She had heard of butch sightings, (hurray for increasing butch visibility!) and agreed to let us take her picture. After we took one, she was so excited that she had us take another one with her daughter."

What's it all about? A note from the other side.

I've been adding so many sightings, I haven't taken the time to talk about the process much. On our facebook page, someone commented that they know lots of butches but don't think they could ask a question like "do you identify as a butch" because it seems nosy. I didn't take it as a critque but more as a comment on the boundaries that exist in some parts of the culture (which I write with awareness that we don't all live or operate in one culture, there are many and most of us cross between them multiple times in a day).

My take is that people are "allowed" to acknowledge one another as queers, and beyond that, as specifically identified queers, in sanctified spaces such as gay bars, marches and gay neighborhoods. We're allowed to do this because we're in a sexualized space of queerness. Here one can be flirtatious and direct with less worry that the line of public pronouncement has been crossed.

Out in the world we're not supposed to do that because we are operating in a significantly straight space where we give each other sideways glances and nods, or sometimes pretend not to see one another at all. In those spaces I always feel a secret thrill like "oh my god I just saw a butch," but have no way to express the experience.

In this project, I'm purposefully crossing the boundary, radicalizing the non-queer spaces, being up front and most of all, not pretending not to see or appreciate. I'm reaching out over the rules of quiet conformity. In doing so, not only do I create a conversation where one might have only possibly existed through surreptitious body language, I'm also outing myself as a femme, an otherwise mostly invisible identity.

I can do this for many reasons without too much angst - my Jewish culture gives me a certain kind of cross-the-boundaries chutzpah, I was raised crossing between many different and conflicting worlds where non-conformity was the norm, and I am the kind of person who likes to challenge herself. And because I am fat, I have always been noticed, stared at, sometimes maligned and otherwise made to feel over-visible. This had the affect of making me more bold, not less. Not to mention I like interacting with people out in the world.

So far, it's been an interesting experience - often times validating (for me and the photographed subject), sometimes confusing and humiliating, quite often thrilling. And you?

#95 Dyke Central!

#94 Dyke Central!

#93 Mary at Dyke Central premier

#92 Yulanda at Dyke Central premier

#91 Young Brat at Dyke Central premier

#90 Sharon at Dyke Central premier