Thursday, October 27, 2011

Butchy's Beauty Tips: Make-up


I have such a complicated relationship with make-up.

Growing up, women in my family weren’t allowed to wear make-up, because women who wore make-up were considered whores and Jezebels.  Since I was busy doing boy things as a kid anyway, I really didn’t give make-up a second thought.

I had never worn any kind of make-up until I left home at 17.  By that age, I still wasn’t interested in make-up, but I let my sister-in-law paint me up just for the fun of it.  It seemed excessive, impractical, and I felt like a drag queen.   

This is not butch make-up, and, since I was under 18, may be considered child abuse.
 Make-up did not become a normal part of my routine back then.

In the past few years, though, as I’ve grown more comfortable with my own gender ambiguity, I’ve come to embrace the whole wearing make-up that doesn’t necessarily look like you’re wearing make-up philosophy. 

The simple fact is that a good foundation and powder evens out skin tones and imperfections, and can help a simple butch look a little more handsome.  I encourage all masculine women to consider the benefits of a good facial skin care routine.

If you can’t bring yourself to put on make-up because it’s just too girly, try to change the way you think about make-up and face care and reconsider the tools you use. 

Here are a few tips to help masculinize your beauty regimen:  
1)       Think of your face as a cabinet that needs to be refinished. 
2)      Begin by cleaning and sanding your cabinet. 
a.       Wash and exfoliate your face.  To butch it up, buy facial products that are gender-neutral or designed for men.
b.      For an added touch of masculinity, slap on some aftershave after you’ve exfoliated.  It will give you that just-shaved burning sensation that we women miss out on.
3)      Find a nice, quality stain that compliments the room.
a.        Find a good foundation that matches your natural skin tone.  The key to butch make-up is making sure that others don’t automatically notice that you’re wearing make-up.
4)      Select a durable varnish.
a.       Use a light coat of powder on top of your foundation.  It further evens out your skin tone, and helps your make-up last throughout the day.
b.      You can use an all-in-one foundation/powder product, but I find that application is not as even and smooth.
5)      Choose the right brush for application of your varnish.
a.       For the longest time, what I hated most about powder was the dainty little circular applicator pad.  Lately, though, I’ve been using a mineral powder that has a brush applicator that looks just like a men’s shaving brush.  It makes me feel so manly when I’m putting on my make-up in the mornings.

6)      Finally, feel free to embellish/decorate your cabinets on holidays or special occasions.
a.       For my day-to-day routine, I believe in foundation and powder only.  Once or twice a year, though, I’ll spice it up for a special occasion by adding mascara, eyeliner, and maybe a little lip gloss/shimmer.  When I add extra make-up, though, I always balance it out by wearing an overtly masculine item, such as a tie or fedora.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Vaginas are Worth Less


1 vagina + 1 graduate or professional degree < 1 penis + 1 bachelor's degree

Apparently, women in Kentucky are worth less than men.  A lot less.  Almost a third less, in fact.

In 2010, median earnings for Kentucky men with bachelor’s degrees were 1.4 times higher than median earnings for Kentucky women with bachelor’s degrees.  Even worse, median earnings for Kentucky men with bachelor's degrees are $5,000 higher than median earnings for Kentucky women with graduate or professional degrees!

I don’t know about you, but this kind of data gets my labia all in a bunch.  If, ultimately, my college degree(s) are worth less than a man’s, why on earth did I have to pay the same price to get them?

We all know tuition rates are out of control.  Undergraduate tuition at Morehead State University has increased 329% since 2000.  Graduate tuition rates at the same institution have increased by 262% since 2002.  Hourly graduate tuition rates at the University of Kentucky have increased by over 180% since 2004. 

So why should we women keep paying more and more for less?

Here’s my solution to this problem.  Until pay equity is achieved between men and women, women get to pay less for college tuition.  Kentucky women with bachelor’s degrees earn 69% of what men earn, and Kentucky women with graduate or professional degrees earn 76% of what men earn.  So, undergraduate tuition for women at Kentucky colleges and universities should be reduced by 31%, and graduate tuition should be reduced by 24%.  Additionally, women who have incurred student loans should see a corresponding reduction in their original principal balances.

Who’s with me on this one?


Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Coming Out - A Very Butchy Timeline


Today is National Coming Out Day.  Having a national coming out “day” is a little misleading.  Coming out is a process, and never occurs in a single day.  If you’re gay, you have to make decisions about whether you should “come out” every time you meet a new person, start working at a new job, or drive through Tennessee.

Being that I’m butch, I usually don’t have to tell people that I’m gay.  People take one look at my comfortable shoes and sensible men’s haircut, and they just sort of know.  But, I haven’t always been the masculine woman everyone knows and loves today.  So, in honor of coming out day, I’m sharing some of the highlights of my personal coming out timeline.

1978 – 1987:  The Why Do I Have To Wear Dresses Years

Me, first grade
 I can’t say that I knew was gay this early in the game, but I definitely knew that I wasn’t a typical little girl.  I liked playing with the boys and fighting with the boys.  I wanted Legos and toy cars, and had no interest playing dolls with other little girls. 

I remember pretending to shave my face as a kid.  And I remember crying myself to sleep in my sister’s lap when my dad shaved off his beard. 

It’s pretty safe to say that I wanted to be a boy during this time frame.  Since I grew up in a snake-handling Pentecostal home, I wasn’t allowed to cut my hair, and I had to wear disgusting froufrou dresses to church and on picture day at school.  My mother would curl my 4 feet of hair in giant pink foam rollers the night before church.  I remember Sunday services lasting for hours, and eventually getting restless enough that my mother would let me go outside with my dad and all the other sinner-men.  I’d hop on the tailgate of a truck with my dad, and he’d give me a little pocket knife and a cedar stick for whittling.  Sometimes, he’d even give me a little jaw-full of Levi Garrett.  So, there I’d sit:  curled hair, froufrou dress, bobby socks, and maryjanes, with a lap full of cedar shavings, spitting tobacco juice in the gravel.  Those were probably the moments I felt most like myself as a child – surrounded by men doing men things.

1987 – 1990:  My Born Again Years

Me, circa 1989, saved and unhappy

Like I said, I grew up with very religious snake-handling Pentecostals.  There were lots of traumatic things happening, and I felt like I was a little sinner bound for Hell.  Out of that fear, I “repented” and was “saved” and baptized in a creek when I was in 3rd grade.  I remember my sister pinning my skirt together between my legs so it didn’t end up over my head when the preacher dunked me in the creek.

Despite my age, these were some of the darkest years of my life.

 
1990 – 1996:  My Coming Out Years

Me, 1995, before I cut my hair
By this point, I definitely knew I liked girls.  I started having lots of crushes on female teachers by the time I was in 6th grade.  During my freshmen year in high school, I had serious crushes on female friends, and ended up telling my older brother I thought I was a lesbian.  By the end of my junior year in high school, I had come out to a few friends and a teacher or two.

By my senior year, I was about as out as a gay girl in eastern KY can be.  I was living with my older brother and his wife, who didn’t care if I was gay.  I started absorbing all the gay information my little sheltered brain could hold.  I subscribed to The Advocate and Deneuve (which then became Curve).  I watched my first lesbian movie (Go Fish).   I remember giving a presentation on gay/lesbian issues in my high school sociology class in front of my high school principal.  This was also the year when I finally said good-bye to my oppressive 4 feet of hair.

1996 – 2002:  The Heterosexual/Becoming Butch Years

At exactly the same time I was coming out hard and fast to the world, I met Jason.  It was our senior year of high school.  We were both smart, had lots of classes together, and were both a little socially awkward with dark senses of humor.  We hit it off pretty quickly.  Jason was one of the many people I came out to that year.

Then something weird happened just before graduation.  Jason and I were chatting, and he asked me what my “type” was.  I thought for a second, and said, “You know.  Somebody like you.  But without a penis.”  As a result, we gave the whole sex thing a try, and because it worked out well, we started dating.  He followed me to college, and we continued dating.  We ended up getting married during the summer between freshmen and sophomore year at college.

This, by far, was the most bizarre coming out phase of my life.  It was sort of a weird “going in”.  I had to try to explain my relationship with Jason to all the friends and folks I had previously come out to.  They’d invariably say, “But I thought you were gay?”  And the truth is, I still felt gay.  Despite being married to a man and having never had sex with a woman, I still felt like a lesbian.  Jason was just sort of a beautiful little anomaly in my life.    

During our relationship, Jason really helped me embrace my masculinity.  Since I was young, I never felt like a girl.  Jason allowed me to express my inner boy.  He didn’t mind that I wore men’s clothes and baseball caps.  He helped talk me through the anxiety of buying my first men’s wristwatch and first men’s wallet. 

Me, 2002, butch and married
Beginning to express outward masculinity had interesting consequences.  I started getting called “sir” frequently in public.  Kind strangers would tell me I was going into the wrong restroom when entering women’s bathrooms in public.  Jason and I would walk through campus holding hands, and rednecks would yell “faggots!” at us, thinking we were two guys.  We once had two girls hit on us, until they eventually asked our names, and then backed away in silent shock after I said my name was Tami.  I also had to deal with all the folks who would ask if Jason and I were married just for the financial aid.  

Everyone just assumed I was gay, which put me in a position of having to “come out” about my marriage and about actually being in love with the guy to whom I was wed.
 
2002 – present:  The Not Worrying About What Other People Think Years

After a few years of marriage, I realized I needed to test the lesbian waters.  I dabbled in polyamory and semi-open relationships, always talking about things and being honest in my relationships.  Eventually, Jason and I realized we’d always be family, but we couldn’t stay married. 

After a couple of lesbian relationships that didn’t pan out, I met Kate (who has a pretty interesting coming out story herself).  We’ve been together for 6 years now.  And I’ve never been happier.

Through all of this coming out in different ways about different things at different times, I’ve come to accept that life, love, sex, sexuality, gender, and relationships are fluid and complicated for me.  I’ve come to learn that I’m a lesbian who can have sex with a man and enjoy it.  I’ve learned that I can be a masculine woman who can love both power tools and Tupperware.  

Ultimately, though, as clichéd as it might sound, I’ve learned that accepting and appreciating myself makes it a whole lot easier for other folks to accept me too. 

Me, 2011, full blown gay

 

Thursday, October 6, 2011

A Divorcee's Guide to Becoming a Lesbian


Are you a recent divorcee?  Are you stuck with a couple of kids?  Are you tired of men?

Then lesbianism may be right for you!

If you’re considering a major change in lifestyle, you may have a few questions and concerns.  If so, please read the FAQ below.

It’s been so long since I’ve dated.  How should I dress to attract a quality lesbian mate?

Dress just like you do now.  No need for make-up or uncomfortable shoes.  Any old pair of ill-fitting mom jeans and a puffy down vest will do the trick.  If you’re still at a loss, just wear whatever your husband used to wear while changing the oil in your minivan. 

I’ve heard lesbians have a tendency to rush into serious relationships.  What if my children get attached to a lesbian and then I decide to be straight again?

Yes, lesbians love serious relationships.  Any lesbian worthy of the label keeps U-Haul on speed-dial.  But you have to remember, lesbians do not behave like other sexualities.  Lesbians never really break up.  Sure, lesbians break up, move out, and start new relationships.  But once you’ve slept with a lesbian, you’re bonded to her for life.  Even if you’re a horrible ass-hat of a human being, the lesbian who breaks up with you will continue to hold on to you like a piece of trash in a hoarder’s house.  Her brain may tell her you’re useless and she should throw you away, but her damn irrational woman-heart just won’t let her.   Even if you go back to your ex-husband, she’ll always be there to teach your kids to play sports, help you re-roof your house, or give you a kidney. 

I’m tired of men and want a change.  But I’m just not sure I can touch another lady’s “parts”?

This is definitely the ickiest hurdle on your straight-to-gay path.  But remember, it’s temporary.  As a heretofore straight person, you may not be familiar with lesbian bed death.  You see, every lesbian relationship eventually devolves into communal sisterhood.  If you can live through six months of lesbian sex, you’ll never have to do it again.  For lesbians, sex is like a fever at the beginning of an illness:  it runs high and fast but breaks quickly.  You’ll be back to your old sex-free routine in no time. 

In the off chance you end up paired with a high-testosterone butch, it may take longer for bed death to set in.  But never fear.  With a high-testosterone butch, all you really have to do is lay back and enjoy your role as “pillow princess”.   And you can always tape a poster of your favorite male celebrity to the ceiling to get you through those hard times.



If you have additional questions about becoming a lesbian, please submit them to:  butchycrocker@gmail.com