Butch & Femme

Flag

Distinct flags exist for butch and femme identities, though neither has a single universally adopted version.

History

Butch/femme as a visible social dynamic emerged in working-class lesbian bar culture in the 1940s–1950s in the US and UK - survival strategies and community structures for women who had no other visible queer identity framework. The Daughters of Bilitis (founded 1955) initially discouraged butch/femme expression as it drew police attention; 1970s lesbian feminism also criticized it as replicating heterosexual gender roles. The 1980s–1990s saw a reclamation and celebration of butch/femme as authentic expressions of queer gender culture.

Notable people

Leslie Feinberg (1949–2014) - Author of Stone Butch Blues (1993); foundational text exploring butch lesbian identity
Joan Nestle (1940–) - Co-founder of the Lesbian Herstory Archives; essays on femme identity and butch/femme culture in A Restricted Country
Amber Hollibaugh - Femme activist and filmmaker; advocacy for femme visibility within feminism