We asked some of our fave butch creators and you the DIVA community
BY DIVA COMMUNITY, IMAGE BY KETUT SUBIYANTO (PEXELS)
Happy butch appreciation day! A day where we get to celebrate all you amazing, wonderful, fabulous, glorious (and all the other adjectives) butch people. And what better way to celebrate than hearing from some of our fave butch creators, and, of course, YOU! The beautiful DIVA reader.
So, what does butch mean to you?
CJ (she/her) @butchgospel: “Being butch means that I get to define my own masculinity and femininity, separate from any binary or social construct. It means showing up authentically in the world everywhere I go because I wear no armour to please heteronormative culture. I am 100% me and 100% butch.”
Teddy (he/they) @bearybutch: “I love “butch”. I wanted it from a young age and it took many years of (impatiently) waiting to get the autonomy to express myself as such. Before that, it was being told over and over again that I was “motherly” (I was a child!), or that I had a soft spot for underdogs (I was one). Becoming and being butch is defying every rule and expectation set on my being. Our transformation is viewed as a harsh rejection when it is the most tender and vulnerable acceptance of the self. You get to reinvent masculinity, the weapon of oppression, and turn it into a shield to protect your community. It means knowing you’ll never be invisible again, and choosing that, every day.”
Here’s what you had to say:
“Tapping into your masculinity and being a strong, powerful woman”
– DIVA Reader
“Embracing your masculinity”
– DIVA Reader
“It means being a tough girl, getting my hands dirty, taking care of people I love, being a boss”
– DIVA Reader
“Being strong and gentle at the same time. Also excellent biceps!”
– DIVA Reader
“To me, it’s being able to just be myself. Realising that I can now choose my own way.”
– DIVA Reader
“Strong women who love strong women. The freedom to be me!”
– DIVA Reader
DIVA magazine celebrates 29 years in print in 2023. If you like what we do, then get behind LGBTQIA media and keep us going for another generation. Your support is invaluable.
✨linkin.bio/ig-divamagazine ✨
