this was originally posted in response to an ask I received. since then, I’ve cleaned it up and added some images for reference. the original ask has done the rounds already, but this revised version is far better.
a reader sent me this question:
why do butches love button-up shirts so much? does business casual/slightly dressy attire have some historical value within the lesbian community or is it just widely considered A Look by butches everywhere?
yes it does – in a few different ways.
partially, it springs from the bar culture of mid-century american lesbian life and the lesbian clubs in europe. many butches of the time were working class. going out to the gay bars was an opportunity to dress up – not just dress up, but butch up. to turn out as fine and handsome as possible, as their authentic selves, in an environment where they were desirable and essential. at a time when other working class women could barely afford one nice dress and the social pressure to gender conform was even more immense, for a butch to have dressy men’s clothes and a place to wear them was affirming of identity and personhood. black studs in particular embraced men’s high fashion and were often in full three-piece suits.
1940s (USA)
USA, 1920s
France, 1930s
France, 1930s
France, 1960s
USA, 1940s
USA, 1940s
France, 1930s
USA, 1940s
USA, 1930s
USA, 1930s
wealthy lesbians in american and british society at the same time and in earlier decades were also able, through their class privilege, to build small private networks. behind closed doors, dressing in men’s clothing was enjoyed and there are some photographs that exist documenting this. these include some of the earliest photos of gender non-conforming lesbians. radclyffe hall was one such lesbian whose wealth enabled her to eventually dress in men’s clothing full time without censure.
Radclyffe Hall with longtime lover Una Troubridge
Radclyffe Hall
Radclyffe Hall
by contrast, a working class butch may have instead been a “passing woman” in order to dress and live as was natural to her rather than having to conform. passing women spent their whole lives as men. sometimes, even their wives did not know they were women until their death.
Billy Tipton, a “passing woman” of the early twentieth century
or at least – they said they didn’t!
male impersonators – “mashers” – were also popular with audiences at the turn of the century in music halls and, later, nightclubs. the novelty was in seeing a woman – considering the extremely strict gender roles of the time, which were also particularly restrictive for women – imitating male mannerisms, speech and dress. incidentally, these performances were often satirical and parodying, undermining the “dominant sex” for everyone to laugh at. male impersonators often found popularity amongst lesbians (some were lesbians themselves) and the ‘perfect illusion’ they delivered on stage no doubt helped create aspirational desire in butches and gender non-conforming women in the audience.
Victorian Masher & Actress
Lily Elise and Adrienne Augarde
Gladys Bentley
Peggy Pierce
Ella Wesner
Vesta Tilley
Hetty King
Victorian Mashers
the social and status role fine men’s clothes carry have a role to play too – men are often presented at their most desirable when they are turned out to the nines in a good suit or tuxedo. for a butch, who does not identify with the ways women are commonly presented as desirable, this is an avenue through which they can feel and be so that is true to who they are.
and, I’m sure many will agree, part of the gut-dropping, knee-weakening erotic impact of butches is the fact they are so completely different to what we’re told to expect women to be. seeing them – and them seeing themselves – presenting as dapper and refined and stylish is a sincerely heady experience (not the only one when it comes to butches of course…). for those of us who are attracted to what was once commonly referred to in our community as “female masculinity”, they show us all the exciting things women can be when they defy the boundaries set to us. a butch in a man’s button-down or a suit is especially brazen and alluring in that regard. and clothes have always had a role to play in self-image due to the significance they hold in society and culture. feeling good in what we’re wearing can be a huge confidence booster. many butches experience discomfort and misery having to wear conventional girls’ clothing growing up. that autonomy of choice is powerful.
Louise, 1940s
unknown, 1900
1910
Anna Moor and Elsie Dale, 1900
ritual is important too – there is a ritual in getting ready to leave the house, especially when we’re dressing up. many gender conforming women take pleasure in the rituals we enact as we dress – it is soothing and satisfying. so it’s unsurprising that butches would also enjoy the ritual of dressing. there is a lot of ritual to dressing in clothes assigned male. repurposed by a butch, that ritual becomes self-actualisation.
there are many other elements of being butch and butchness that have similar significance of course. but this is one.
african-american lesbians had a strong presence in the bar scene and had a vivid butch-fem culture of their own. however, in collecting photos for this piece, I was unable to find many examples of black butches and studs attending in the bars to further illustrate this aspect of history. the book ‘boots of leather, slippers of gold’ is an extensive history of butch-fem culture in the 1940s and 1950s and is inclusive of black butches and fems’ presence and stories.
Question of Smoke 