What's 'The Critical Butch' About?

Dear reader, subscriber, visitor or newcomer,

Welcome to my Substack.

Some Things You Should Know:

While this publication is free and public, the purpose is to create an opportunity for connection and exchange of ideas exclusively amongst lesbians.
This publication is born out of the need to provide a respite for lesbians from Gender and Queer ideology. The uniqueness of our experience as exclusively-same-sex-attracted females deserves a space where it is not only the priority, but the sole and only focus.
Heterosexual and gay male allies are, of course, welcome to engage intelligently and ask questions, where relevant.
Do save your breath: claims of victimhood, accusations of “something-phobia” and open hostility toward lesbians in the comment or restack sections will not be entertained by yours truly.
Every thought and word you read is fruit of my own labour and my own thoughts, research and opinions. Of course, credit is given where credit is due.
Restacks and comments are not necessarily direct endorsements. Direct Endorsements do not necessarily mean complete and full endorsements either.
Furthermore, The Critical Butch encourages critical thinking and intellectual curiosity, and welcomes you to engage respectfully and relevantly.

Read on!

Views on Sexuality, Gender, Trans, Queer and Identity:

When and if I ever talk about identity, I talk about the embodiment of who we are, not something purloined and appropriated to fit a determined standard, aesthetic or category. You cannot identify as something you are not and shape an alternate reality in which that is truth. Identity can only exist in relation to material reality.
I do not believe sexuality is necessarily innate, and I most certainly do not believe it is chosen. Sexuality is likely the result of natural life development—which usually starts to manifests in early life (in the case of homosexuality, in the form of early gender-non-conformity).
Gender non-conformity and homosexuality are natural ways of being. Homosexuality is innately gender-non-conforming.
Human beings are not one-dimensional: women can be masculine and still female. Men can be feminine and still male.
Biology Is Reality: men cannot become women. Women cannot become men. Men can’t be lesbians. Women can’t be gay men. If humans cannot change their biological sex, there is no reason to “live as” the opposite sex.
I do not believe the “True Trans” narrative, nor do I think the original Trans movement was in any way better than the “fluid” gender model presented today. Trans ideology is fundamentally incompatible with the vision of a healthy, well-adjusted homosexual.
There is no such thing as “being born in the wrong body” or “having a soul of the opposite sex”. As a visibly GNC lesbian female, the idea of “transitioning in order to ‘live with’ gender non conformity” is not only preposterous, but something that should not be normalized nor encouraged.
In a society without strict gender roles, there would be no such thing as “trans”. What we should strive for is normalization—what we now refer to as “gender non-conformity” would be just another way to be female or male.
Gender dysphoria is a form of social contagion. People who feel incongruence with their bodies should be treated with appropriate mental health support and guide to acceptance of one’s bodily reality, not “cured” with cross-sex hormones and radical physical alterations.
Gender Medicine should be abolished in all instances. It is not “affirming” anything but delusions and self-hatred and does not benefit anybody—adults or children.
I reject Queer Ideology, the narrative that humans are “sexually fluid”, the idea that homosexuality is “obsolete” and the destroying of language by queer academics in the english-speaking sphere that has reverberating effects on non-english-speaking countries’ progression of gay & lesbian rights.

Focusing On Lesbians:

When I say “lesbian” I mean a whole, all-encompassing way of being rooted in bodily reality: a female that feels exclusive attraction to females and exclusively wants to engage in same-sex behavior—including when not in a relationship. In other words: a female homosexual.
My conversations focuses on lesbians because that is the group I belong to and which is most coherent to discuss as one. This does not mean lesbians are a homogenous group of people—we all have different backgrounds and political views. My intention is to bridge those differences and connect the dots between the characteristics we do share (I.e. being a female homosexual and the experiences associated with such)
Language is important: I reject the use of the word “lesbian” in improper ways: such as to describe temporary sexual behavior, a “preference” towards women or a political lifestyle. Lesbianism is incompatible in contexts that both exist in relation to or in reaction to men—I do not believe “any woman can become” a lesbian.
When I speak of Butch and Femme I refer to two lesbian individuals with varying degrees of gender-conformity, both non-conforming to society’s standard of womanhood (to be both male-attracted and feminine).
Butch-Femme exists cross-culturally and relates to the natural embodiments of lesbian sexual expression—which is not a monolith—and not magically summoned identities that require to change one’s lifestyle or approach to such (like trans). Butch and Femme are simply ways to describe the type of lesbian they are & relationship one seeks and feels most at home in.
“Butch”: while it is often misguidedly conflated with an aesthetic or a “performance”, the true meaning of this term lies in the expression of a lesbian’s natural personality, appearance and sexual desire oriented toward the Femme Lesbian. Instead of blankly “masculine”, it is more appropriate to describe the Butch as a “more ‘masculine’ female than the Femme”—this lesbian sexual expression has nothing to do with emulating male masculinity and everything to do with being a more “proceptive” female homosexual partner in relation to the Femme. Only lesbians can be Butch.
“Femme”: while it is often misguidedly conflated with an aesthetic, a “performance of femininity” or “whichever feminine woman the Butch is dating”, the true meaning of this term lies in the expression of a lesbian’s natural personality, appearance and sexual desire oriented toward the Butch Lesbian. Instead of blankly “feminine”, it is more appropriate to describe the Femme as a “more ‘feminine’ female than the Butch”—this lesbian sexual expression has nothing to do with emulating heterosexual femininity and everything to do with being a more “receptive” female homosexual partner in relation to the Butch. Only lesbians can be Femme. Read my post about Femme Lesbians here.
Butch or Femme can’t be expropriated from female homosexuality. I reject the appropriation of lesbian cultural terms by Queer, Bisexual Women & Trans-identified individuals of any sex.
Not all lesbians are Butch or Femme, of course. Butch and Femme are also not appropriable aesthetics. Non-lesbian women cannot be Butch or Femme—the inappropriate use of those terms makes it hard for those of us who use those words to find each other.

Views on LGBT/LGB and Affiliation:

Whilst I believe that allyship is important when fighting for a common cause, I do not believe in “inclusion for the sake of inclusion” and “allyship for the sake of allyship” without critical thought.
There is no such a thing as LGBT “community”—which has consistently sidelined and bastardized Lesbians to favor narratives of “gender“ and “sexual fluidity” and centered male & male-attracted people above all.
I do not believe Lesbians benefit from being grouped within “LGB” either. “All same-sex attracted people” is not a relevant enough grouping when more than half of alleged same group is in opposite-sex-relationships—this holds no relevance for homosexuals whatsoever, who experience exclusively same-sex attraction and relationships.
Gays and Lesbians do share common, however limited (amounts of), characteristics (homosexuality). We should continue fighting together, when aligned, against the attempted erasure of homosexuality and our language.
Lesbians do share differences with Gay Men and opposite-sex-attracted women that deserve to be addressed independently. When lesbians are grouped with LGBT/LGB our needs routinely take the back seat as others’ are prioritized.
Lesbians deserve the right to lesbian-exclusive spaces—both online and in-person.
Conclusion: grouping Lesbians with fundamentally incompatible groups further increases our invisibility and erasure as both female and exclusively-same-sex-attracted individuals.

Feminist And Political Views:

Women’s oppression is not femininity or appearance-based, it is sex-based.
Women are female-born people with different biological needs than male-people. Women have a right to demand women-only spaces, including and especially sports, changing rooms and healthcare.
Most of my Feminist thought is influenced by Radical Feminism. Whilst I find myself most adjacent to the latter, I do not associate myself with it as a homogenous group—I do have my criticisms of its lesbian-exclusionary and female separatist strands.
When I say Feminism, I mean a tool for all women (females) to understand the roots of our sex-based oppression and not a club reserved to those who fit in & used to enforce feminine standards of behavior and dress-code (even in the sake of so-called “androgyny”).
Feminism must include lesbians and with it, butch-femme lesbian women—I encourage the latter group to engage and participate in Radical Feminist analysis and discourse, and not automatically self-exclude.
I welcome and encourage detransitioned lesbians who have broken free from the ideology to engage with feminist and lesbian analysis and community.
While I consider my views aligned with left-wing and socialist ideas, I do not presently associate with a specific political strand or party. I denounce the right wing’s insistence on gender roles as natural and the vision of women as private domestic property for men. I denounce left wing liberalist ideas that “men can become women” and that women should be public property for men’s consumption.
I denounce the harms of pornography and the sex industry; I denounce prostitution and surrogacy as well as BDSM, polyamory and any other practices derogatory to women and girls.