Butch-Femme Relationship

In the 1940s in the U.S., most butch women had to wear conventionally feminine dress in order to hold down jobs, donning their starched shirts and ties only on weekends to go to bars or parties. The 1950s saw the rise of a new generation of butches who refused to live double lives and wore butch attire full-time, or as close to full-time as possible. This usually limited them to a few jobs, such as factory work and cab driving, that had no dress codes for women. Their increased visibility, combined with the anti-queer rhetoric of the McCarthy era, led to an increase in violent attacks on gay and bisexual women, while at the same time the increasingly strong and defiant bar culture became more willing to respond with force. Although femmes also fought back, it became primarily the role of butches to defend against attacks and hold the bars as queer women's space. Ying and Yang

While in the '40s, the prevailing butch image was severe but gentle, it became increasingly tough and aggressive as violent confrontation became a fact of life. In the 1950s, reported that women held strong opinions, that "role distinctions needed to be sharply drawn," and that not being one or the other earned strong disapproval from both groups.

Starting in the 1970s, some feminist theorists pronounced "butch-femme" roles politically incorrect because they believed that all butch/femme dynamics by necessity imitated hetero-sexist gender roles, leading to butch-femme relationships being driven underground.

However, "inherent to butch-femme relationships was the presumption that the butch is the physically active partner and the leader in lovemaking....Yet unlike the dynamics of many heterosexual relationships, the butch's foremost objective was to give sexual pleasure to a femme. The essence of this emotional/sexual dynamic is captured by the ideal of the "stone butch.

Femme

Feminine female lesbian who protrays the submissive role in a butch-femme relationship.

types of femmes:


Aggressive Fem- a dominant femme but still carries herself girly as well.

Pillow Fem- a more softer femme who is describe as a bottom.

Boi

Boi (plural: bois)
is a term used within LGBT and butch and femme communities to refer to a person's sexual and gender identity. In lesbian communities, there is an increasing acceptance of variant gender expression and intersexuality, as well as allowing people to self-identify with labels such as boi. The term may denote a number of possibilities that are not mutually exclusive.

A young transman, or a transman who is in the earlier stages of transitioning.
A term of endearment for butches by femmes. It may also be used in the gay community to refer to a younger person

Gay Games VII

called the Chicago Gaymes, is part of a family of international sports and cultural festivals called Gay Games, sanctioned by the Federation of Gay Games and organized by the LGBT community of the host city of Chicago, Illinois in the United States.

The four acts represent the four stages of this evolutionary process as envisioned by the Director: Exclusion - that moment when we discover that we may not fit into the world as we might have thought, growing up...the moment of discovery of difference; Oppression - the manifestation and formalization of the dynamic initiated in Exclusion...homophobia, gay bashing, contemplation and execution of suicide out of despair...ending with the embracing of self and the beginnings of hope; Expression - the power of community and standing up for oneself, of coming out of the closet, finding Like Others, celebration of individuality and difference within even our own communities; Ignition - the taking of all this powerful energy and philosophy and lighting the world with the ideals of enlightenment and acceptance.
At the midway point of the Ceremony was the "Exhortation to a Weary Army," a reinvigoration to the community in the worldwide fight against AIDS, given from the AIDS Memorial Quilt, and tribute to Tom Waddell, the founder of the global Gay Sports movement and the Gay Games.

Winifred Emms

best known by her stage name Hetty King, was an English entertainer who played in the music halls over a period of 70 years.

Emms was born in Shoreditch, London on April 4, 1883.

Emms adopted the name Hetty King when she first appeared on the stage of the Shoreditch Theatre, at the age of six with her father, William Emms (1856-1954), a comedian who used the stage name of Will King. By 1905, she was appearing in music halls, with her solo act, as a male impersonator, often dressed as a "swell". Her career spanned both World Wars when she performed in the uniform of either a soldier or a sailor. She also played the "principal boy" in many pantomimes.

Breast Binding

Hiding one's breasts is likely the most challenging piece of the gender illusion puzzle for a drag king. While some are small breasted and may succeed using a tight sports bra, many kings resort to one of the following, or several of the following used in conjunction with other methods: Ace bandages (which is incredibly risky due to the bandage's nature of tightening with movement, restricting breathing); duct tape (dangerous for the same reason as Ace bandages, restricting breathing); soft, hard, or ribbed back braces (worn backwards); and compression shirts and vests. Some use a method involving cutting a hole in the crotch of pantyhose for the head and making sleeves out the legs.

This creates a tight stocking shirt that compresses the breasts. While it is uncomfortable to bind one's breasts in any way for any period of time, duct tape is the most damaging. Prolonged use has resulted, in some cases, of tearing off skin and excessive blistering after removal, or stretching of the breast tissue and skin after long term use. Another damaging binding technique, but more immediately so, is the use of Saran wrap. Saran wrap will close off the pores, not allowing the body to sweat or breathe.
Kings have been known to pass out, or faint, within minutes of performing due to binding with saran wrap.

FTM

(female to male) a transman or transsexual born female, than turns into a man.