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Elsbethe t1_iuaceuk wrote

Reply to comment by WitchsWeasel in A lesbian couple in a gay nightclub, Paris 1930 by GreatAcanthisitta466

In all fairness it is complicated

We are labeling them a lesbian couple

We are calling one of them Butch

They may identify us a straight couple

The more masculine person May identify as a man or a or as a trans man, Or in the language of the day as a transvestite, Or cross dresser

We don't know how people labeled themselves especially especially in a world with so few labels

I appreciate that you think that Butch has been reclaimed but as a woman who has loved Butches my whole life I assure you that the word has never gone out of style at all

I think the most useful term would have been "the one who is more masculine. "

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WitchsWeasel t1_iuaij5e wrote

True, I just checked out their wikipedia page. They used to wear binders and underwent a double mastectomy, and somewhat changed their name to a much more gender ambiguous one. I think it's safe to say that's pretty far into trans territory, especially for the time. Unfortunately, we don't have a language that has any wiggle room to speak of when it comes to gender neutrality, with all the issues it creates when it comes to defining gender on a spectrum, so there's that.

Also, duly noted for butch, though female still sounds bad either way. Not that that nazi deserved any courtesy, but eeh. Thanks for sharing your perspective, I appreciate it!

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