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The Lived Experiences of Gender Transgressive Lesbians

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The Lived Experiences of Gender Transgressive Lesbians CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE “Sometimes They Call Me Sir”: The Lived Experiences of Gender Transgressive Lesbians A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Master of Arts in Sociology By Julia Lynch Davison May 2015 The thesis of Julia Lynch Davison is approved: _____________________________________ ____________________ Karen Morgaine, Ph.D. Date _____________________________________ ____________________ Amy Denissen, Ph.D. Date _____________________________________ ____________________ David Boyns, Ph.D., Chair Date California State University, Northridge ii Acknowledgement I am grateful to my thesis committee, Dr. Karen Morgaine and Dr. Amy Denissen, for dedicating their time and expertise to my thesis project. They have both been instrumental in guiding me through this process and encouraging me to pursue my academic interests. I am also indebted to Dr. Amy Denissen for presenting feminist and LGBTQ theory to me in her Sociology of Gender course. This course changed my life, as her teaching methods and the theorists presented inspired me greatly. I am particularly thankful to my thesis chair, Dr. David Boyns for his kindness and encouragement during this project and throughout my graduate studies. His advice has been crucial to my success within this program. I would also like to thank Teresa DeCrescenzo for her inspiration in pursuing my passion of LGBTQ studies. Her class Sociology of the LGBT community exposed me to many LGBTQ theories along with excellent LGBTQ literature, which moved me so very deeply. I am forever grateful to my family and friends for their unending support of me throughout my graduate studies and thesis project. For my spouse, who was one of the inspirations for this project, I thank you for your belief in me. For my mother, thank you for being so incredibly strong in raising me as a single mother, and for teaching me what strength lies within myself. For my son, thank you for inspiring me to be better every day, you are the light of my life and I am so lucky to have a son as incredible as you. iii Dedication This thesis is dedicated to all of the gender outlaws out there in the world (especially to the participants of this study) who express themselves so bravely in their everyday lives. To my loving spouse and gender outlaw, Max Davison. Thank you for being such a brave role model in showing me how to live an authentic life. Your courage and honesty inspire me every day. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS SIGNATURE PAGE ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iii DEDICATION iv ABSTRACT vi My Queer Femme Experience: The Researcher’s Autobiographical Account 1 CHAPTER 1:Introduction 5 Statement of Research Question 12 CHAPTER 2: Literature Review 13 History of Butch Identity 13 Gender Transgressive Lesbian Presentations 18 Homophobia and Genderphobia 22 CHAPTER 3: Theoretical Framework 25 CHAPTER 4: Methodology 34 CHAPTER 5: Presentation of Data 42 CHAPTER 6: Summary, Implications and Outcomes 114 CONCLUSION 125 AFTERWARD: Closing Comments and Research Goals 132 References 139 Appendix A (Interview Schedule) 143 Appendix B (Recruitment Flyer) 145 Appendix C (Consent Form) 146 v ABSTRACT “Sometimes They Call Me Sir”: The Lived Experiences of Gender Transgressive Lesbians by Julia Lynch Davison Master of Arts in Sociology Previous studies find that gender transgressive and butch lesbian presentations are often met with hostility and violence due to homophobia and genderphobia within society. This study explores the lived experiences of gender transgressive and butch lesbian gender identities through in depth interviews with 10 participants regarding their experiences with their gender identity and gender presentation. The research questions explore personal experiences, with sexual and gender normative expectations within work, family, personal relationships, the dominant gender normative society and also the LGBTQQI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Intersex) community. This study seeks to understand how life is experienced through the participant’s own standpoint, asking what is life like for a gender transgressive or butch lesbian? The in-depth interviews produced a group of significant statements, from which 22 themes emerged. These themes are presented underneath the 4 main categories of identity, experiences, community, and genderphobia/homophobia. Each theme presents the experiences gender transgressive lesbians have within the social world pertaining to their gender presentations. It is expected that this study will contribute to the existing literature on gender transgressive and butch lesbian identity in that the interviews will vi provide insight into the daily-lived struggle with discrimination in many areas of their lives such as work, relationships, and community (within and outside of the LGBTQQI community). In conclusion, I argue that the data presented in this study describes the ways in which gender transgressive lesbians pose different threats to the dominant gender system than queer or lesbian femmes, gender-blending lesbians, and some (excluding genderqueer) transgender individuals. Specifically, gender transgressive lesbians threaten the gender binary by identifying as women who have a masculine presentation, thereby undermining the “sameness” taboo at the core of the gender binary. In these ways, gender transgressive lesbians are a greater threat to the dominant gender system. It is my hope that the results of this study will also provide insight into how gender transgressive lesbians resist gender oppression through their gender identities and gendered presentations. vii MY QUEER FEMME EXPERIENCE: THE RESEARCHER’S AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ACCOUNT I would like to start this project off with an autobiographical account of my experience with the topic of my study. Since this is a phenomenological study, I will do my best to bracket my own experiences with this phenomenon in order to ensure that I transcend my own experiences, so that the respondent’s experiences are at the forefront of this study. The following account of my journey regarding this thesis topic is for the purpose of bracketing and disclosure purposes. I identify as a Queer Femme Latina, and I have a butch identified lesbian spouse. Throughout my life with my spouse, I experience discrimination in various ways in different areas of society. I notice that when I walk outside into the world on my own, the world treats me much differently than when I walk with my spouse in the world. Much of the time we are greeted with curious stares, strange questions, confusion, and harmful actions by the people we encounter. In my experience, individuals in LGBTQQI relationships encounter a discrimination that most heterosexual couples never experience. I am aware of this difference because previously, I was married to a man in a heterosexual relationship. In my previous relationship, we were celebrated by society in many ways, through representations in the media, family approval, societal approval, various benefits, religious support, and job stability. I find that this is such a stark contrast in comparison to what I experience in my relationship with a butch identified lesbian. When I first began to notice this difference, I realized there might also be many more who are experiencing this genderphobia and homophobia from society as well. 1 When I began my graduate studies program in Sociology at California State University, Northridge, I sought answers to the questions I had regarding gender identity and society. My first course was “Sociology of LGBT” with Professor Teresa DeCrescenzo. I was newly “out” as a Queer Femme in my new relationship, and I felt alone and isolated. I was looking for answers pertaining to what I was going through and how that relates to others within society. I read some wonderful books in that class that helped me understand that I was not alone in my experience and that many LGBTQQI individuals struggle with genderphobia and homophobia throughout society. In this course, I learned a term that transformed the way I viewed my own experience, internalized homophobia. Internalized homophobia are the negative feelings an LGBTQQI person feels towards themselves, due to the homophobic ideas and actions ingrained within us from various institutions within society, such as family, church and/or school. Professor DeCrescenzo taught our class that internalized homophobia could live in anyone as a product of living in a homophobic society. As a child who grew up in a Pentecostal protestant family, I suffered in silence as a queer identified youth with my own internalized homophobia. As an adult now in a relationship with a butch identified lesbian, I have come to realize that the world treats me differently when they see I am coupled with my spouse. As a femme identified Queer cis-woman, being misidentified as heterosexual happens everyday. People mostly just assume I am a heterosexual woman and there are societal, and personal, benefits to that. However, when I go places with my butch lesbian identified spouse, people stare, question our relationship, deny us rights and disregard our 2 relationship. I imagine what life must be like for my partner, who at all times lives in her truth with courage. I wanted to learn more about the experiences of gender nonconforming individuals and how their everyday life is affected by society’s reactions towards them. As I moved along in the sociology graduate program at California State University, Northridge, I completed course projects
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