To start class today, I’d like you to take 10-15 minutes and reflect on your initial responses to Leslie Feinberg’s Stone Butch Blues. What do you think so far about this novel? How would you describe your intitial reading experience? What seems particularly striking or challenging about it as a text? What’s the most important insight into gender that you think you’ve gained by reading it?
Second, identify the most significant passage or scene that you’ve read and briefly describe it to the rest of class, including a brief quotation (and page number) that captures this moment in the text. Then, explain why you think it is significant.
I have really enjoyed reading Stone Butch Blues thus far despite the fact that it’s a sometimes depressing and challenging to read. Since I initially enjoyed reading the gender narratives at the beginning of the course, so this follows that style of writing. The intimate settings and descriptions of experience foreign to me, and probably the majority of people, are what makes the novel especially challenging, both to fully understand and to get through objectively. Throughout the novel so far, Jess and other butches/femmes in the community refer to understanding what one another means, so coming in as an outsider I’m just a by-stnader unable to fully understand and merely getting a glimpse into this subculture through Feinberg’s narrative.
ReplyDeleteThe scene regarding Jess being raped by the police officers was particularly striking to me for a number reasons. It was not the first time she had been raped for standing out as a butch, but it was the first time she completely removes herself form her body allowing the action to take place in order to find a peaceful mindset since she is unable to stop the action from occurring. Also, it was especially impacting coming from a force of the law. Police officers are meant to protect citizens but in this case they were the ones doing the harm, which continues to be a theme throughout the subculture where women are beat and raped by police officers on a regular basis. This scene was much different from the earlier scene on the football field because the men involved were no longer young, stupid boys. Now they were adult men in a position of power taking advantage of the situation in order to correct what they believed to be a social wrong and subsequently harming many women in this subculture in the process.
Reading this novel has been a really intense and at times challenging experience for me. I have to keep on reminding myself that this happened in a different place and isolated location. I think that the time period reminds me as a reader how different dominant thought operated at the time in considering day to day interactions Jess experiences. I also think that geographical location is important in considering lack of migration and influx/outflux of ideas. I remind myself of time/place differences in order to comfort myself, but I think that I might be giving change due to time and place too much credit. I think that the most powerful commentaries on gender come from Jess' conversations with Kim and Scotty. Feinberg is able to employ children's innocence and wonderment in order to deliver a larger message about questioning society's definitions and requirements of identity.
ReplyDeleteI think that the story on page 14 of Jess being forbidden from spending time with the Navajo family is significant because it is Jess' first memory of being removed from a comfortable community and being denied some aspect of her identity. The Navajo family had provided her with a sense of security and belongingness that her own home lacked. Much of her story follows this pattern of losing people and/or places that give her a sense of security and self-understanding within her own identity.
Stone Butch Blues is an amazing novel so far. Because it is based on the personal experience of Leslie Feinberg, it's story is all the more powerful. During my initial reading experience, I had trouble putting the book down. I wanted to keep reading about Jess and the struggles she was facing. What is so striking/challenging about it is that it's so raw and real, that it makes for a hard and depressing read. I found myself cringing and even tearing up at the harsh reality of it's pages. By reading it so far, I feel that I have gained more knowledge of history as well as the personal experiences and hard pressed times that people who struggle with this go through. Not only is this depressing, but it really does speak much about love and finding yourself, which makes it a universally understandable novel in some of it's aspects. The hardest scene for me to read was pages 40-41 when Jess is raped by the football players. Although there were many scenes that showed abuse, this really stuck out to me. "Part of the nightmare was that it all seemed so matter of fact. I couldn't make it stop, I couldn't escape it, and so i pretended it wasn't happening," (Feinberg 41). There is something so haunting about being defenseless and having to pretend that the awful thing occuring isn't happening, so to read this and not be able to do anything was hard.
ReplyDeleteStone Butch Blues exemplified truth in the heart of discrimination and oppression. From the confusion of adolescence to having experiences that forced Jess to grow up, this novel related to anyone who has been abused for being different. The author speaks in a blunt, matter-of-fact manner and it captivated me to keep reading. Jess’s character was very innocent, which allowed the reader to empathize with the progression of her character.
ReplyDeleteAt times I had trouble reading the scenes about rape. The descriptions were raw and graphic, which took the reader to the same state of embarrassment and vulnerability. I appreciate the honesty in the narrative though; it made it easier to connect with the characters. I found it striking the routineness of the police rapes. It emphasized the powerlessness of the situation. It took away any hope that the abuse Jess had already experienced and would come in the future would ever really end.
The first few passages stressed that gender was based on stereotypes and society resisted any deviance from those stereotypes. Starting with her parents traditional viewpoints to her first experiences at the bars and then the judgment and harassment in high school, it seemed like she just couldn’t win. Everyone was against her. I gained much insight into the sense of powerlessness and vulnerability of not being safe and being hated so incredibly.
I found the paragraph at the end of page 37 to page 38 about how Jess’s closest friends died or got into drugs or went back to prostitution was particularly significant. Al, Yvette, Mona, and Jackie were her inspiration and place of acceptance. To have the hopeful figures leave stressed that Jess was alone and vulnerable. This passage showed that there was little assurance that anything would be okay.
This book initially drew me in very quickly. It’s extremely well written and a truly compelling story. Honestly, I’ve had to take a few breaks from reading it. Some specific scenes were when she was getting raped on the football field by the entire team and the scene with the cops raping her. This was definitely the scene that was most challenging for me to read because you saw just how power hungry and repulsive the police were back in this time period. Every rape that has happened so far is purely for dominance over lesbians. I was discussing with my friend about how awful it is that men have the strength and the “equipment” to cause so much harm to women. In this scene the cop gives her to options to, “Either eat me or eat my shit, bulldagger. It’s up to you” (Feinberg 62). This scene begins as uplifting with the drag show and Jess was the emcee. She had a wonderful speech at the beginning where she said, “You know, all our lives they’ve told us the way we are isn’t right… Well, this is our home. We’re family… So tonight we’re going to celebrate the way we are. It’s not only OK, it’s beautiful” (Feinberg 60). Just when they are starting to have a really good time, the cops burst in and start arresting everyone. When it’s time for the cops to harass Jess, the cops debate on who gets to torture and fuck her. The cop who does decides to shove her head in a toilet for extended periods of time until finally she must inhale and gets shit in her mouth. She vomits all over the officer and he gets so frustrated he throws her on the table and begins raping her. Luckily she was able to zone out and make herself somewhat feel like she was in the desert again. This shows the difference in gender through masculinity because they see a female who is masculine and need to dominate her with what they identify as masculine, their penis.
ReplyDeleteI have found Stone Butch Blues to be really interesting and kind of hard to put down. I have never read anything like this and it really makes me stop and think. It's neat to read this point of view, one that seems more realistic, than one that is just a complete fictionalized view of the trials these individuals go through. Initially though when I started reading it I was mad. I was mad that Jess would be treated so poorly by so many people. I really enjoy the honesty that comes across throughout the novel.
ReplyDeleteI think the time period that the novel takes place in is really important for the meaning of the events and how the stories unfold. I didn't know anything about butches and femmes and the brutality they were treated with. I can't believe how strong these individuals were in the face of all this oppression, often violent as it was. I'm happy that the bonds between them were so strong and that they stood so united. I still can't believe too that Jess's parents had her institutionalized and all the stuff she had to go through there too.
I think a significant passage is on page 38 when Jess sees Jackie again. I think it's significant because sometimes the incredible brutality they are faced with finally wears them down. Al disappeared and Jackie began working the streets again and was under the influence of heroin. It's sad to see someone that was so happy and in love get their spirit ripped apart because other people don't accept or understand them.
This novel was incredibly moving. The illustrations of the raping’s and beatings are particularly visual and were very hard to read. This book has been like any other I have ever read, in both good and bad ways. This book keeps my interest, but also lets me down. It's sad to see how people treat others, but I know this world is and was not perfect. When Leslie is bleeding after the rapes, and is beaten up, the fact that no one, especially her parents cared was disappointing. Being so alone would be awful and I totally feel for her. An important thing I've taken out of this reading is the experience that someone who is either homosexual or trans. has gone through. This book really makes you feel what these people are going through. The scene that stuck out to me the most was when the boys rape her. They acted like animals waiting to get there share and that in its self was horrifying. When the coach comes out and says “Get out of here, you little whore"(41). This illustrates her loneliness and the fact that being a girl didn't matter.
ReplyDeleteAll I can say about this book so far is wow. The first half of "Stone Butch Blues" has been so crazy for lack of a better word. It's crazy to see how much drama and tragedy can fit into such a young person's life. It broke my heart that Jess's parents didn't come after her. I also thought about how sad it was that as Jess approached the young age of 21 she was already so old with experience. I do enjoy reading this story but it does affirm to my ideas of already not being very fond of cops and how people are being brutalized just for being different. It is also refreshing for me to hear a working-class queer narrative for a change with incorporates how the various levels of discrimination interact. The bluntness of the rapes occurring also is very profound as it shows how all women, butch or not, have been dominated/hurt by men. In a contrasting way, the bluntness within the butch/femme sex was also important to me as it was transparent with the intimacy displayed in the sexual relationships. However, out of the entire intro the part that struck me hardest was when Jess tells a story of seeing a lesbian couple in a store who are "popped ... out the door like corks" by those who disapproved but that all Jess wanted to do was "run after them and beg them [to take her with them]." To all of this her friend Angie reply with a line that's very memorable to me, "It's tough when you see it coming, ain't it?" (69).
ReplyDeleteThe first six chapters of Feinberg’s Stone Butch Blues were mind-boggling. Never did I think I would feel so connected to the character. It was simply wonderful. The author begins the novel off with Jess writing a letter to her lost love, Theresa. It is a beautiful piece and I was immediately sucked in. I don’t want to belittle the message of the book but to me, it was like any other love letter. I forgot she was writing to her lesbian lover. I think the author did a brilliant job by choosing this letter as the beginning of her story. It just goes to show that love is something everyone and anyone can feel and no matter who we are we will be able to understand one another.
ReplyDeleteThe rest of the chapters were difficult to wrap around my mind. The detailed descriptions of abuse were heartbreaking, alarming, and eye-opening. Although, I have heard of these incidences taking place, it’s another thing when you are so connected to the character and feel her/him going through such horror. These descriptions are the hardest to read but it does help the reader under the complexities of the character and her life. I feel privileged that ‘someone’ does trust me with their life story.
One of my favorite passages is in Chapter four, page 45, when Jess goes to talk to Mrs. Noble and tell her about the situation. After much talking, Mrs. Noble states, “I could see you becoming a great American poet, or a fiery labor leader, or discovering the cure for cancer.” She took off her glasses and wiped them with a Kleenex. “I wanted you to help change the world.” This statement was so encouraging and I just wanted to understand how Jess felt. She explains how she sees herself as powerless. I just wanted her to take in what Mrs. Noble said and let it sink in. Her statement was powerful and I hope somewhere in the novel she ponders on it again and takes it for a fact.
This novel is a beautifully written activist story that is about more than the characters that are scripted inside. It is a love story that can be universally translated into our own lives of love loss pain and happiness. This story reflects the lives of people who do not fit into the biological gender norm. They are all individual who seek family and acceptance just every other human being does. Yet, social conformity and worry of being different, has isolated this group, of strong individual, even farther into the dark side. Literally, these men and women are forced to find family in bars, and on street corners, and can be brutally raped or beaten just for trying to find acceptance in a place that society has made unacceptable.
ReplyDeleteI was looking at her while she was talking,thinking I was stranger in this woman's eyes. She is looking at me, but she doesn't see me. (pg 5)
For me this first page had me hooked on the novel. This is the love letter that Jess writes to Theresa, which is a powerful timeless enactment of love and loss. Although this is not a prodding rape scene or act of discrimination, it is a moment in Jess's life that shows all the hurt and anguish she felt. This story is brilliant because it doesn't ostracize those who have not felt this type of pain. Instead, it enriches those who have not lived this lifestyle, making the her thoughts and feelings accessible and understandable. I choose this letter because it also reflects the notion of love that I discussed earlier, which again makes this book all the more accessible.
“Stone Butch Blues” is a gripping novel that instantly draws you in as a result of the straightforward writing that is raw and written in a way that automatically draws the eye to the next page. The author denotes the struggles associated with both class structure and gender constraints very vividly. The explicit scenes in the novel were extremely difficult to digest. I had to take a few breaks from time to time to really absorb what had happened. The array of troubles that Jess faces from childhood up to adulthood because of her being “different” only escalated as time went by. The sneers, the abuse, the lack of understanding, the oppression and abuse of power from those around her are real beyond the realm fiction. The hostility, harassment, sexual violence, lack of acceptance and tolerance was society’s response to people that, like Jess, were different. The novel thus far has exposed the intricate complexities that exist amongst gender deviant behavior and how the violence and oppression of those that are dominant in the society affects the individuals who are part of the “deviant” community.
ReplyDeleteNature plays a key role in the way in which Jess copes with the violent abuse she endures. When the world judged her harshly and pushed her toward solitude, “Nature held [her] close and seemed to find no fault in [her]” (Feinberg 17). When Jess was raped in the schoolyard by the football players internalized that all familiar shame that Jess had experienced her whole life (Feinberg 41), she looked at the sky and clouds to escape.This refuge in nature is also evident in perhaps one of the most significant scenes in the novel thus far. When viscously raped by the police officers she finds refuge in the desert, in the sky, in the sun (Feinberg 62). The violation of her body, the distortion of sex, and the fear were defining moments for Jess for it allowed Jess to separate herself from her body.
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ReplyDeleteStone Butch Blues has been a striking novel to say the least. The reading went faster than the theoretical articles. The personal account of all these events in very explicit detail makes them more real, personal, and more difficult to digest. The novel has an effect on the reader.
ReplyDeleteTo me the most important scene was that in which Jess searches for approval amongst her teachers after she is expelled from school. This foreshadowed much of what she would face in the world she becomes a part of.
From a historical stand point, it was interesting for me to learn that gay bars were at one time illegal. I was unaware of the police violence involved in busts of such establishments.
Reading the rape scene was extremely difficult for me, as I may guess it was for others. The fact that Jess internalized the events and turned it into shame was very upsetting to learn as a reader.
So far, I find Stone Butch Blues to be very emotionally intense to read and incredibly engaging. I think Feinberg is very eloquent and vivid with her narration. Although it was somewhat hard for me to relate to in the beginning, I was drawn in very quickly and oddly enough, can emphathize with the author. It's challenging to read some of the descriptive instances and experiences that are unfathomable to even imagine. It's hard to see the past reality that transgendered people had to face during those times and even during our modern time as well. It really highlights the ignorance when people assume someone in the LGBTQ becomes so out of choice; as if someone would truly choose to go through these emotionally and physically tolling experiences out of choice. It just further goes to show how people are so frightened by ambiguity.
ReplyDeleteThe part on page 24-25 where Jess read the poem to her class was significant to me. The poem really captures the wholeness of her struggles, endeavors, and longings up to that essential point in time that makes up a big part of who she is later in the novel. When Jess' teacher seems to empathize with her, it shows Mrs. Noble as the first person in her life that understood a part of her and caught a glimpse of the pain she endures.
While reading the story Stone Butch Blues, I have really been intrigued. This story is very interesting and the author really makes it easy to get into the book. My initial response was to not be able to put the book down. This book is challenging because it can be so emotional and upsetting. Before reading this I never knew how hard it was to be LGBT I didn't understand how horribly they were/are treated by people with authority.
ReplyDeleteThe most significant passage to me, were the moments where Jess was learning the ropes of becoming a butch, it was great to see others pull her under their wing and teach her how to act. Also, the moments when the bars would get busted and the way they are treated was a very horrible, yet eye opening passage, around pg 62 and 35. It is interesting and sad to watch how these butches have turned cold, the hardships they endure on their path of being butch, pro, and femmes.
I have really enjoyed reading Stone Butch Blues. It offers a lot of important insight on gender. Something that stuck out to me was the importance of labeling in Jess's life. Identifying whether she was a boy or a girl contributed greatly to the strife that she experienced. Reading from the narrator's perspective allows us the ability to feel the lack of acceptance and the emotions that we might not otherwise be exposed to.
ReplyDeleteThe most significant scenes were those involving rape. Rape is something that is sort of always held over women as a threat. Lesbians are the victims of rape frequently because of some belief that it will "correct" them, as in cases in South Africa. There is a notion within feminism that males rape lesbians because for them, female sexuality cannot exist without male involvement. A lot of male are not okay with females receiving pleasure without a penis being involved. There is a threat to men if women do not need men for sex. This could be the case with rape like this -- it's almost to prove a point by forcing sex with a man on the woman.
Stone Butch Blues is a very hard book to read and I say this because it can become emotionally intense with all the graphic scenes and things that happen. I mean to me personally it is a page turner at times but then again it comes to be very hard to deal with reading the book. Its amazing how people treat one another because of differences I never really knew how bad it was till I was reading this book.
ReplyDeleteFor me there were two scenes that struck me as what the hell type of moments. One was the rape scene and the other when jess was speaking to the doctor. The word rape makes me sick to my stomach the thought of it makes me mad and the fact that it happens and how they tell about it in the book was very difficult and also the doctor scene because it shows what length a person is willing to go to in order to make life easier on them and others and what they will do to keep a loved one happy.
So far I think this novel has made me very very thankful to not be growing up queer in a working class community in this time period! Not to say that something shitty won't happen to be or my partners in current times, but damn, thank goodness for the LGBTQIA community that paved the way to make things a bit easier for me! My initial experience reading the novel has largely consisted of pity and empathy for this poor girl and all the situations that continually make her life harder. I am also continually amazed at how uplifting and important small moments of kindness can be for her, and the impotence of having a community to feel safe in. The most important insight into gender that I've seen so far is understanding how little agency these women felt they had both politically (in being able to join and participate in unions) and in the justice system (that they didn't seem to take any legal recourse against the cops). It was a scary realization that I don't usually identify with (coming from my middle class background) to feel so powerless against forces of cruelty.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most significant passages to me so far has been the rape scene that occurred when Jess was in high school. Jess was brutally passed around between several men in a gang rape. The boys disperse after the coach sees them, and after staggering to her feet all the coach has to say is: "'Get out of here, you little whore', Coach Moriarty ordered". While understanding his impulse to want to protect his players from some kind of redress, the fact that at the very least he couldn't walk over to see if she needed immediate help, and the language he used, emphasized to me how little care and respect was given to women in general at the time, and doubly so for anyone who was a misfit of gender norms.
The novel initially grabbed me with the opening letter to Theresa. It was very intimate, and instantly made me feel connected to the author. And for people who may be uncomfortable with relationships outside of the standard binary gender system, it immediately demonstrates how love is not judgemental and is the same across all stereotypes.
ReplyDeleteStone Butch Blues is very difficult to read, and has some disturbing scenes without being brutally graphic. People were so cruel and oppressive to Jess, and strong societal figures treated Jess terribly. It is very upsetting to know this happened, and may still happen, in our society.
Also, there were things, such as the law that women had to be wearing at least 3 "female" articles of clothing, that seemed absolutely absurd to me. I knew laws and society differed then from current times, but not in such drastic ways.
I really enjoyed the varying emotions the texts takes you through. Some parts left me devastated while others made my heart flutter. The night after first reading the part where the drag queens take Jess to buy a suit I had a dream that I had bought my first suit as well. I could feel the joy in my dream that I can only imagine Jess felt in the book. I found that to be a nice way to empathize and connect to the book. Some of the things Jess went through left a knot in my stomach, which goes to show the effectiveness of the writing. I also enjoyed how the novel contextualizes many aspects of history to ground the significance of how the world around Jess was affecting her everyday life.
ReplyDeleteThe passage on page 73 struck me the most. It is after Angie realizes Jess is a virgin and they sit and talk. Their fears underlie the scene yet they are still attempting to stay in the moment. The way Angie describes the beetle being poked and hows that's a metaphor for them-- teased and taunted, forced out of innocence because they don't fit the standard mold. She makes it into a slight joke that reflects a lot of pain. This is Jess's rite of passage but she cannot fully grasp it in that moment. although the scene would normally reflect Jess's growth, it is able to beautifully illustrate Angie finding a new side of herself because of Jess. It is a powerful scene that can depict growth as well as explain the meaning of being stone, by being forced to harden after so much poking and prodding by others.
In the beginning of this novel, I thought that it was very dense (which was not a bad thing) and very interesting. I found myself getting very emotional throughout the first part of this book for many reasons but mainly just because of the way she was treated by her family as well as the school and peers (mainly the boys). I have enjoyed the book thus far, it is easy to read – hard to put down.
ReplyDeleteThe part that comes to mind about being challenging is how horrible the boys have been to her through the book, mainly in their arrogance and self-importance.
Growing up I have always been a tomboy of sorts but I was never looked down upon because of it. I did have a couple times where boys took advantage of me, but I do not think it was for this reason. So it has been really surprising as to how much different the people around/toward Jess and the other Butch women just because they were butch. The cruelty and judgment that these women received just disgusts me. It does seem like part of the reason for this was the time period but I have become – a lot more recently – aware of the fact that this type of behavior still continues even to today.
The scene that comes to mind is the one where Jess is raped by the boys of the football field. This scene is awful not only because of the rape but also how the football coach comes up and calls her a whore and does nothing at all to the boys. It shows the gender inequality as well as the ignored injustices of people, especially women, who did not fit the desired mold.
As others have commented, my initial reaction to the novel was more directed to the writing style. I felt it rather mundane and often repetitive. I was initially angry at the fact that Jess would subject herself to a lifestyle that in fact could have been causing her to become more withdrawn. I began to internalize much of her struggle due to her life styles and began to honestly resent the character. As I continued through the novel of course I began to understand this was, while cliche, the tale of a individual wanting to live as who they truly were in a world who was not accepting of it. The sacrifices due to societal pressures where justified if Jess could truly be comfortable or a least semi comfortable with a new found identity. The repeated police raids began to ware on me where I found my self questioning if it was worth it, these bar trips, if these men and women were to be subjected to brutality continuously. The scenes that truly captured my attention were the rape scenes. All of them combined a tragic and heartbreaking narrative where Jess would describe through vivid imagery how she escaped from that current reality.
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