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A stone butch is a lesbian who displays female butchness or traditional "masculinity" and who does not allow their genitals to be touched during sexual activity,[1] as opposed to a stone femme.
The term stone butch was popularized by Leslie Feinberg's 1993 novel Stone 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 term stone 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 with non-binary gender identities and transgender masculine 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]
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