Stone Butch Lesbian

Stone butch describes a lesbian or queer person with a strongly masculine gender expression who, in intimacy, prefers to give touch and pleasure rather than receive it, and who may not want to be touched sexually in return. The word "stone" points to that boundary. The identity grew out of working-class butch-femme lesbian bar culture in mid-20th-century America and carries a long history of both community and hardship. Leslie Feinberg's 1993 novel Stone Butch Blues, following the character Jess Goldberg in and around Buffalo, New York, brought the experience into wider view and remains a touchstone in both lesbian and transgender writing. Stone butch is a self-chosen label, and what it means can vary from person to person.