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The Disappearing Butch: Discursively Disciplining Queer Subjectivities

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The Disappearing Butch: Discursively Disciplining Queer Subjectivities THE DISAPPEARING BUTCH: Discursively Disciplining Queer Subjectivities by Cara Dawn Moody Bachelor of Social Work, University of Victoria, 2009 Bachelor of Arts, Carleton University, 1996 A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SOCIAL WORK in the Faculty of Human and Social Development Cara Dawn Moody, 2011 University of Victoria All rights reserved. This thesis may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author. ii Supervisory Committee The Disappearing Butch: Discursively Disciplining Queer Subjectivities by Cara Dawn Moody Bachelor of Social Work, University of Victoria, 2009 Bachelor of Arts, Carleton University, 1996 Supervisory Committee Dr. Susan Strega, School of Social Work Supervisor Dr. Donna Jeffery, School of Social Work Departmental Member Dr. Heather Tapley, Department of Women‟s Studies Outside Member iii Abstract Supervisory Committee Dr. Susan Strega, School of Social Work Supervisor Dr. Donna Jeffery, School of Social Work Departmental Member Dr. Heather Tapley, Department of Women‟s Studies Outside Member Our current social climate suggests that there is greater tolerance and acceptance of lesbians than ever before. There is evidence to suggest that gays and lesbians are becoming fully integrated into mainstream culture. Gay and lesbian characters are now regular media features with entire television shows such as The L-Word constructed around “lesbian” characters. Social acceptance of same sex sexual behavior has become such that celebrities such as Madonna and Britney Spears can kiss each other on national television to the titillation and amused delight of straight viewers. Perhaps the biggest indicator of increased acceptability of gays and lesbians is Canada‟s 2005 change in marriage laws, now granting marriage licenses to same sex couples. Despite these seeming advances to gay and lesbian equality, I contend that rather than cause for celebration, these developments are simply a modern spin on an old tactic – a reformulated method of assimilating and “normalizing” lesbians. The greater acceptance afforded to lesbians today is at least in part, a result of media images that commodify lesbians as reproductions of Hollywood straight women. Within this context it seems that few lesbians today, and even fewer young lesbians self identify as butch. My hypothesis is that if lesbian feminism was the old threat to butch identity, the shunning of identity and the appeal of inclusivity within the neo- liberal, capitalist paradigm is perhaps the new. Using Foucauldian discourse analysis and a feminist methodology, this thesis analyses historical and contemporary discourses related to iv lesbian subjectivity to explicate how butch identity is being made to disappear within North American lesbian communities. v Table of Contents Supervisory Committee…………………………………………………………………………...ii Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………...iii Table of Contents………………………………………………………………………………….v Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………………vii Dedication……………………………………………………………………………………….viii Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………..1 Social Work and the Disciplining of Gender Normativity………………………………..5 Situating Myself – Identity and Theory………………………………………………...…6 Queer Theory…………………………………………………………………………….10 The Importance of Language…………………………...………………………………..11 Butch=Lesbian………………………………………….………………………………..14 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………….....16 Methodology……………………………………………………………………………………..17 Feminism and Poststructuralism, Ontology and Epistemology………………………….18 Reflexivity………………………………………………………………………………..20 Foucauldian Discourse Analysis…………………………………………………………20 Genealogy………………………………………………………………………………..22 Discourse…………………………………………………………………………………23 Subjectivity………………………………………………………………………………25 Governmentality……………………………..…………...……………………………...26 Sexual Science and Gender Conformity…………………………………………………27 Disciplining Gender Normativity: Pedagogization and Psychiatrization……………..…29 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………….....31 Method…………………………………………………………………………………………...32 Discourse Analysis as Method..………………………………………………………….33 Criteria for Analyses...…………………………………………………………………...37 Data Selection……………………………………………………………………………38 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….41 A Genealogy of Butch…………………………………………………………………………...43 What is a Butch?................................................................................................................44 The DSM: Homosexuality and Gender Identity Disorder……………………………….47 Contemporary Butch – 2000 and on……………………………………………………..53 Butch in the 1970‟s, 80‟s, and 90‟s………………………………………………………55 1960s Butch……………………………………………………………………………...57 1950s Butch………………………………………………………………………….…..59 1940s Butch………………………………………………………………………….…..66 Role of Butch in Lesbian Communities……………………………………………….…71 Role of Butch in Larger Culture…………………………………………………………73 Butch as a Challenge to Heteropatriarchy and Heteronormativity………………………74 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….77 vi Data Analysis………………………………………………………………………………….....79 Butch as Other/Disordered……………………………………………………………….80 Warning: Butches In/En Danger(ed)…………………………………………………….89 Feminine Seduction……………………………………………………………………...95 Homonormative (Lipstick) Lesbians………………………………………………….....96 Reproducing the Gender Binary………………………………………………………..105 Heteronormative Ambition…………………………………………………………..…111 Embracing Trans………………………………………………………………………..116 Pregnant Men and Bearded Ladies……………………………………………………..120 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………...122 Discussion and Conclusion………………………………………………………………….….125 A “Toehold on Respectability”…………………………………………………………133 Good Queers/Bad Queers………………………………………………………………135 The New and Improved Consuming/Consumable Queer………………………………138 Esteeming Butch………………………………………………………………………..141 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………...143 References………………………………………………………………………………………146 vii Acknowledgments My gratitude and appreciation to Dr. Susan Strega for your thoughtful, insightful, detailed feedback and direction. You pushed me to think critically, to be transparent about how I know what I know, offered a great deal of encouragement, and believed I could do it (even when I had my doubts). Also, many thanks for going out of your way to accommodate a tight timeline and for sending me loads of resources and resource leads. Thanks also to Dr. Heather Tapley and Dr. Donna Jeffery for agreeing to sit on my committee and for supporting my timely completion. Thanks especially to Donna for fostering an appreciation and an understanding of poststructural theory (despite some initial resistance on my part) and for encouraging an exploration of my relationship to subjectivity and identity. To Sonia, who incited my earliest thinking about butch/femme, who entertained endless conversations on the topic of butch, generously offered research support and whose wisdom continually inspires and challenges me to think critically. Much love and gratitude for your support and encouragement. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to Emily who cooked for me, cleaned up after me, readily took second place to “the T word,” challenged me to explain my attachment to identity, and who patiently listened to my repetitive despairing lament, never wavering in saying “you can do it,” and “of course you‟re going to finish it.” Your support, love and encouragement pulled my through. I love and adore you. viii Dedication In honour of all the brave, bold butches both living and dead whose defiant refusal to be “normal” makes bigger the meaning of female and whose very existence confronts the foundation of heteropatriarchy. Your pride in difference inspires mine. With much love, respect, and gratitude. Chapter One: Introduction Our current social climate suggests that there is greater tolerance and acceptance of lesbians than ever before. There is evidence to suggest that gays and lesbians are becoming fully integrated into mainstream culture. Gay and lesbian characters are now regular media features with entire television shows such as The L-Word constructed around “lesbian” characters. Social acceptance of same sex sexual behavior has become such that celebrities such as Madonna and Britney Spears can kiss each other on national television to the titillation and amused delight of straight viewers. Perhaps the biggest indicator of increased acceptability of gays and lesbians is Canada‟s 2005 change in marriage laws, now granting marriage licenses to same sex couples. Despite these seeming advances to gay and lesbian equality, I contend that rather than cause for celebration, these developments are simply a modern spin on an old tactic – a reformulated method of assimilating and “normalizing” lesbians. Normalization refers to dominant culture‟s practice of bringing into line those who appear different from the norm. In this context, normalizing technologies are those strategies that aim to eradicate difference, essentially erasing lesbians by heteronormalizing us; in other words, making lesbians more akin to stereotypically heterosexual women. Strategies of normalization include dominant discourses, which have historically tended towards narrow sexist, heterosexist and homophobic assumptions about lesbians (Allison, 1967; Caprio, 1954; Grahn, 1984; Lamos, 1994). Constructions of the working class “bull dyke” for example were intended to contemptuously represent all lesbians (Allison, 1967; Faderman, 1991; Grahn, 1984). Both derided and feared,
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