#142 Jill at the Fertile Ashes premier

Pasha had some great encounters last night. She says,

"This is Jill, who I had never met before, but I knew she was a friend of acquaintances of mine. She was sitting one seat down from me during the movie. I asked her if she identifies as butch and she readily said yes, and was fine about getting her picture taken. I talked to her some more later that night, and she said she might send me a note. She then admitted she had seen me on match.com and noticed in my profile that I really like butches. That made me feel shy."

#141 Lou at the Fertile Ashes premier

Pasha says:

"This is Lou, who is a friend of Jill's, and was sitting one seat further down. When I asked her if she identifies as butch, she said, 'Even my name is butch.'"

#140 Nita at the Fertile Ashes premier

Pasha says:

"This is Nita, who is a friend of Jill and Lou's. She was an extra in the movie. She was telling me a story about something that happened at the Michigan Women's Music Festival this year to honor butches and butch identity, as a response to some people feeling that butch identity is becoming less common."

#139 Marker at the Fertile Ashes premier

Pasha knows that X marks the spot. She says,

"This is Marker. Marker had a small role in the movie. Marker identifies as queer, but when I asked if Marker wanted to be photographed for Butch Sightings, I got a definite yes. When talking about not identifying as a butch, Marker spoke about gender becoming a much more fluid concept, and said there is less of a need for gender-labeling words, ending by something like, "That's a good thing, right?" I agreed, but Marker's words were striking when juxtaposed with what Nita had just been saying (see above)."

#138 Polly at the Fertile Ashes premier

Pasha knows how to find them! She says,

"This is Polly. I have to admit I know Polly and know she identifies as a butch. I just loved that she had on an Occupy MN shirt. Polly has been an activist for many decades, and lived in NYC in the late 60's and has many great stories."

#137 Seven at the Fertile Ashes premier

Pasha, again, who says:

"This is Seven. Seven is dating Tawnya 'Sweetpea' Konobeck-Essen, who plays one of the main femme roles in the movie. When I asked her if she identifies as butch, she chuckled and say she guesses so. This picture is so dark, I almost didn't post it, but Seven is SO handsome."

#136 Joan at the premier of Fertile Ashes

Pasha says:

"This is Joan. Joan and I happened to sit down in adjoining chairs at the exact same time to take a break from the after-movie dancing. When I asked her if she identifies as a butch she said yes right away. I was telling her about Butch Sightings and she asked me if it was a good way to meet people. I said it really served the purpose quite well. Shortly after Joan asked me to dance."

#135 Deb from L.A.

Okay, so this was something. First, I saw three people for Butch Sightings all within the same 20 ft. area (but at different times) on a sidewalk in Berkeley. Second, I saw Deb walk by but I was on my way in the opposite direction and didn't stop her. Third, my daughter and I were walking to our car after we picked up our package and there she was with a friend, about to back out of their parking space. They stopped to let us by and I thought it was kismet - how could I not ask, especially because they were both smiling and looked like nice people.

So then, I asked Deb if she identified as butch (she definitely does) and if she had heard of butch sightings. She said she had and was wondering if she'd ever get stopped and asked. I replied, "I'm her!" and then she told me she was a friend on facebook. But the wildest part is that she is from L.A.! She just happened to be up here and we happened to be at the same place at the same time (twice really if you count the first time we passed each other).

Welcome to the site Deb - it was great meeting you (and thanks for getting out of your car for the pic)!

#134 Kathy

I saw Kathy outside the stained glass store, and the next time I looked, she was inside - how did that happen? I don't know, but I went in too. She doesn't usually use the word butch but she was great to spot and I'm happy she agreed to be on the site!

#133 Monti

Monti was busy listening to her music and walking on by when I stopped her, mid-song, to ask if she identified as butch. Dyke is a better word, she says, but she was still happy to be on the web site. I happen to love her look!

#132 Kelly, Gender Variant Librarian

Megan ran into Kelly at a librarian conference. How lovely! Here's what she has to say:

"This is Kelly, spotted at a librarian conference in Monterey.  She identifies more as gender variant than as butch as she likes to live on the fringes and doesn't really like labels.  However, she says that others often label her as butch.  Yes, she's a librarian (!) and she lives in the Bay Area with her partner.  We had a lovely conversation about library systems, aging servers, various other geekery, and the beauty that is butch/femme.

Yay sightings!!!  :D"

#131 Sweet Pea, MMA Fighter

Yvonne, our ever diligent butch sighter, had a more exciting visit to the doctor the other day. Here's what she had to say:

"I had a little ray of well needed sunshine after rupturing my Achilles and sitting in the waiting room for an MRI I met Alex Kumara AKA Sweet Pea and her lovely wife Marie. They  married at the Long Beach courthouse a year after they met. They are one of the lucky 18000 who are protected which is wonderful as they have 2 little girls ages 5 and 3. Sweet Pea, originally from Panama was in for her MRI for a possible torn ACL from sparing as a professional MMA fighter! Ya that's right. Her team is called Sparta and she boxed professionally for 10 years. This Butch is a Rock Star. I asked her if other Butches MMA fight and she said no it's primarily Femmes! She explained that in MMA fights you spar mostly with men to toughen you up and then closer to the fights you fight with other female fighters. In the actual MMA fight men and women fight together. She was so sweet, kind and an overflowing cornucopia of fight information. Watch out world as soon as Sweet Pea heals up her knee were going to see her all over the map."

#130 Kris and Mariah, Fishing on the Pier

Our newest butch sighter, Megan, sent in this exciting photo! And here's what she had to say about it:

"Saturday, San Diego, Ocean Beach pier.   I was watching the sun set into the ocean with my girlfriend, and she spotted Kris (on the left) fishing off the pier. I asked her if she identified as butch.  She smiled and said, "Yes.  Well, or baby dyke."  I explained the project and then she told me if I waited for a few minutes, her girlfriend would be coming back with her girlfriend's sister who is also butch. Mariah (on the right) is Kris's girlfriend's sister.  Both were totally happy to be on the blog and Facebook."

#129 Renee at the Salsa Party

Lauren, butch sighter in NYC, likes to dance. Salsa specifically. Yesterday she went to a party and got busy, not dancing, but butch sighting. Thank you Lauren!

Here's what she has to say:

"Renee was my first sighting at the salsa party.  I told her about the project and she grinned.  'Wow, I can't believe I've been sighted.  My girlfriend's going to love it!'"

#128 Michelle at the Salsa Party

Lauren, who must not have had time to dance, with all her work getting butch sightings, says:

"Michelle, at the salsa party in NYC.  Michelle enthusiastically agreed to be photographed when I told her what the project was all about."

#127 Louise at the Salsa Party

Another dispatch from Lauren at the Salsa party:

"Louise and her girlfriend were also at the salsa party.  I approached them and popped the question to Louise.  She looked at her girlfriend sheepishly and said, 'well, yeah.'  I told them about the project and asked if I could take Louise's picture.  She deferred to her girlfriend, who graciously agreed."

#126 Susie at the Salsa Party

Lauren, salsa dancer and butch sighter, went to a Salsa party yesterday. Here's what she has to say:

"Here's Susie getting ready to show off her moves at an LGBT salsa party in NYC.  When I asked Susie if she identifies as butch, she said, 'well, it's complicated, but yes.'"

#125 L. Frank at Bioneers

L. Frank was walking by the Indigenous People's tent when I spotted her in her cowboy hat. I asked her first if I could ask her a question, then if she was queer and when she said, yes (or maybe, "of course") if she identified as butch. She gave an unequivocal "yes!" then patiently waited while I fumbled in my purse for my phone to take a pic and tried different photos hoping to get a good one out of the bright hot sun.

#124 Erin at Bioneers

Bioneers is an incredible organization with an annual conference in Marin County, California, each year. I went today, not expecting to see many queers or butches, but there were a few I just had to ask. This is Erin, who says she doesn't identify as anything in particular. She is queer and friendly and was happy to be on the web site. She was nice about my question too. That's always a relief.

#123 Taylor

Lugging a bag of dog food over my shoulder and holding a bag of bird seed and pill pockets in a bag, I had my hands full when I saw Taylor crossing the parking lot at the pet food store with her three year old daughter. Even encumbered, I couldn't help but ask, "Do you identify as butch?" I guess you know the answer. Thanks Taylor, for stopping. It's not easy to stop when you have a preschooler in tow.