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So what is the difference between androgynous and butch?

Discussion in 'Sexual Orientation' started by Love4Ever, May 27, 2018.

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  1. Love4Ever

    Love4Ever
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    So based off of a recent discussion, it got me thinking, how do people define the difference between someone who is androgynous vs someone who is butch? Obviously, there is some overlap but I was curious how people individually define the difference. Also, if possible use an example of someone to highlight what the differences are for you. For me, androgynous is an amalgamation of feminine and masculine styles. So like a woman who wears suits but also wears makeup, or a man who has short hair, but wears a skirt. Androgyny to me has feminine elements whereas butch does not. Butch uses a strictly "masculine" set of aesthetics. K. D. Lang to me is butch, Shane from the L word is androgynous. I also don't think it's so much about what clothes you wear but HOW you wear them.
     
    #1 Love4Ever, May 27, 2018
  2. amylase

    amylase
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    i think i agree with your general definition, lol but i'm femme i don't really have experience actually portraying butchness or androgyny

    ^ this
    i think that's the key factor. androgyny seems like taking both masculine and feminine and openly portraying both, whether by clothes or physical features
    butch seems like masculinity through a woman's lens, or rather a different take on it because it's how someone who may physically appear feminine takes on masculinity.
     
    #2 amylase, May 27, 2018
    Love4Ever and kkou like this.
  3. Mihael

    Mihael
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    Oh! Ha ha.

    How I used it was to mean that in personality, Shane is masculine. She has that sort of vibe, doesn't she? Regardless of what is goin on in particulars. I donmt know, maybe it's how I grew up. I never saw the "dry" emotionless masculine style as masculinity, raher as neutrality. My dad listens to hard rock and used to have a motorcycle, was an athlete, we wathed some shows with Bruce Lee or sci fi when eating pizza, lol, and granddad goes camping with friends all the time, that is what I picture as masculinity, regardless of whether someone decorates themself or not. It's chill, it's tough, it's strength, and it's freedom.

    I used butch=masculine, androgynous=masc+fem
     
    #3 Mihael, May 27, 2018
  4. Love4Ever

    Love4Ever
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    Interesting. There are obviously no hard lines between what is "masculine" and "feminine" and everyone will have a different view on where one ends and the other begins, and this is because both of these things are social constructs. So it's definitely all very interpretative.
     
    #4 Love4Ever, May 27, 2018
  5. Love4Ever

    Love4Ever
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    For me it's more like, butch= higher percentage of things that are considered "masculine". Androgynous= more even balance, closer to 50/50 split between things considered masc and femme. But I do think emerry brings up a very good point in that it can be more about how a person conducts themselves and their interests than what they choose to wear. A girl could have a very masculine attitude but dress very "girly", or dress very masculine and be very "feminine." It kinda reminds me of that time where Carmen made Shane wear that white frilly dress. The dress was very stereotypically "girly" but Shane didn't look less "masculine" in it. I think that's a good example of how it wasn't really what she wears that makes her not overly "girly" it's how she acts and behaves.
     
    #5 Love4Ever, May 27, 2018
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  6. Mihael

    Mihael
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    I think for one masculinity and femininity differs depending on e.g. culture, time, etc., and for two they are conglomerates of so many traits... it's sometimes difficult to compare apples against bananas, thus hard to tell who is more masc/fem.

    Yup, I'd also say butch/masculine means "more masc than fem".

    Shane is someone who dresses androgynous but behaves masculine in my opinion. Her style is classy. :slight_smile:
     
    #6 Mihael, May 27, 2018
  7. Love4Ever

    Love4Ever
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    I agree. I wish I could have style like hers. I wouldn't know where to begin though. If I could look like anyone it'd be her. I really want to dress more masculinely/neutrally.
     
    #7 Love4Ever, May 27, 2018
    Last edited: May 27, 2018
  8. Loves books

    Loves books
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    My opinions are pretty close to the others. Androgyny is a mixture of both genders where butch is just masculine. I would have called Shane butch though.
     
    #8 Loves books, May 27, 2018
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