The Butch Monologues

by Laura Bridgeman

The Butch Monologues is a contemporary collection of real life stories exploring the female butch, trans masculine and gender rebel experience.

Genres: Queer, Nonfiction, Lesbian, Poetry, LGBT, Essays

58 pages

Published January 1, 2017

Reviews

[selma · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I wondered if we could be magnificent apart. But splendid together."

Really great collection of monologues from butches of all walks of life. It was refreshing to read about childhood, identity, gender, relationships, sex, work, from a butch perspective.

[carys · Rating 5 out of 5]

i had to put the book down and contemplate what i was doing with my life 100 times. im constantly dancing between being entirely comfortable with myself and feeling like i’ll never actually meet myself. i want to be butch and i sometimes feel i could be femme. i want to love a femme and be loved by a butch. i want to be tattooed and grow my armpit hair and scare my mother. but i also want to have long hair on my head and wear makeup when i’m bored.

i’m not even 19 yet and i feel like i’ve experienced every bending of gender i can and none of them fit. so i’ll make my own.

[Althea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stole my butch's copy of this to read! Absolutely loved it!

[nikita✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

"As a butch, sometimes it feels as if the world would be more comfortable if you didn't exist. But we do. May we always."

"I now have a different relationship with my identity. I'm not intimidated anymore."

I loved reading this. I got a copy of this book when I visited Gay's the Word in London with my girlfriend and have read it all in one sitting and already dog-earred my favourite parts!

[abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

"As a butch, sometimes it feels as if the world would be more comfortable if you didn't exist. But we do. May we always."

[raven magdalene · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was absolutely beautiful :’) as a femme reader i found myself so seen within these pages due to being a he/him femme. “femme. i mean. beautiful” is the sweetest thing ever. the love for femmes within this book is immense. what a beautiful exploration of the butch identity :’) I LOVE BUTCHES !!!! <3333

[Meg Parrott · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easily digestible, easy to follow compilation of anonymous butch stories. Heart felt, anger inducing; riding the waves of emotion of butch / stone dyke life - in all its beauties and complexities.

[Amelie]

Had the opportunity to meet and get a copy signed by the author with a bunch of other queers. I cried a lot when they talked about their experiences being queer and compiling other butches experiences for the monologues.
Beautiful, short and approachable read. :)

[Emory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh give me more of this

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

While some of the monologues in this book had me raising an eyebrow at their inclusion, I still think a majority of the works included here broadened my view as a masc lesbian.

[castor · Rating 4 out of 5]

feels very raw and real, was happy to read

[Lu2000 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so great. I cried several times reading it because the level of identification overwhelmed me at some parts. Love love love

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read and finished in one day. What an amazing compilation of monologues from butches everywhere. So much insight but relation. Getting this copy from Libro themself makes this so much more special.

[Aubrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this on a whim and do not regret it! It's so valuable to have these stories documented, especially across generations.