The termstone butch was popularized byLeslie Feinberg's 1993 novelStone Butch Blues, which describes the protagonist's explorations of the lesbian community. A large segment is devoted to the tribulations of being a stone butch person, and the experience of being a lesbian while identifying with masculine traits.[2]
Bonnie Zimmerman documents a use of the term to refer to a lesbian who "does not allow herself to be touched during lovemaking", but may experience vicarious sexual pleasure from her partner's enjoyment.[3] Zimmerman notes that this may have been particularly prevalent in the 1940s and 1950s.[3]
The termstone butch has also been used in reference to a subculture or set of mannerisms,[4] as opposed to a statement about sexual behaviour. In this context, 'stone butch' can describe the opposite of 'femme' or 'high femme' attributes,[5] although an individual can identify with both categories.[6]
Stone butch identities can overlap withnon-binary gender identities andtransgendermasculine identities among lesbians.[7][8][9][10] The sociologist Sara Crawley has written that, while stone butch and masculine transgender identities may share significant characteristics, the primary distinction between the two is that lesbian self-identification prioritizes communicating one's identity to a specifically lesbian audience, whereas transgender masculine self-identification does not.[11] Similarly,Jack Halberstam has contextualised stone butch identities as one of many distinct female masculinities.[12]
^Ormiston, Wendy (July 1996). "Stone butch celebration: A Transgender-inspired revolution in academia".Harvard Educational Review.66 (2):198–216.doi:10.17763/haer.66.2.46r7n64515203412.
^Crawley, Sara (5 October 2008). "Prioritizing Audiences: Exploring the Differences Between Stone Butch and Transgender Selves".Journal of Lesbian Studies.6 (2):11–24.doi:10.1300/J155v06n02_04.PMID24807655.S2CID11095070.
.svg)