We want your butch stories for an upcoming anthology. Anthology to be published by Flashpoint Publications, a publisher of LGBTQIA+ stories. What does being butch mean to you? We want to know about your experience of living and loving as a butch. Tell us about the complexities and intricacies of your butch identity, gender presentation and representation—the good and the bad. We want to know everything—from the moment you saw the possibility of your future self in someone else to the day you got your official butch card. Tell us about your power suits, buzz cuts and lucky flanne ..read more

I dreamt I saw RBG in the grocery store pushing a cart down the canned food aisle in a black Adidas tracksuit Her crocheted collar a white flower blooming in her chest I told her I was sorry we had asked her to hold on for so long She smiled and nodded then went back to work filling her cart applesauce sardines blackberry jam #RIPRBG ..read more

The Petco clerk tells me she’s like a cockroach. “I’ve see everything, honey. This ain’t gonna kill me.” Who wore it better? Bieber or the lesbians? She wears a pair of one-size-too-big jeans cinched at the waist by a thick brown leather belt. Her hair is styled like Justin Bieber’s circa 2012. Her laugh is loud like shattered glass. “And if it does, I’ve got news for you. We’re all gonna go sometime.” For some reason, her bravado makes me feel better. Mr. Rogers said in times of crisis to look for the helpers. I say look for the helpers. Also, look for the butches. I walk to my car with nec ..read more

Your favorite butch had a birthday on Monday. I know what you’re thinking. Didn’t you have one of those last year? And why is this blog always about you? Anyway, I’m getting over a cold, so it was a quiet celebration. W took me out to dinner at a local pub, and we brought home a chocolate bread pudding that we shared in bed while watching The Office. I highly recommend this activity. Shelia E. is in the house. The day before my birthday, I had purchased tickets to see Sheila E. at City Winery in Philadelphia and then tweeted about it. On my birthday, Sheila E. responded with an enthusiastic ..read more

Last night, I attended a wine tasting and poetry reading hosted by my book group at a local independent bookstore. We sipped wine and ate chocolate and gabbed. I shared a poem called “Boomerang Valentine” by spoken word poet Andrea Gibson and a poem I wrote that was just published in a collection of gender-neutral love poems. In between wines, I boasted about some pieces I’ve written that will be published later this year. “I’m living the life,” I joked. And then I wondered, what if I am living the life? What if this is it? My stomach did a little flip like Charlotte Flair performing a moonsau ..read more

A few weeks ago, W and I spent the weekend in the Big Apple with friends. On Saturday afternoon, we enjoyed slices of New York pizza, visited a used bookstore and saw Network on Broadway starring Bryan Cranston and the lovely Tatiana Maslany. In the evening, we caught a burlesque show at a place called The Slipper Room in the lower east side. It was hot and crowded and almost impossible to get a drink, but as W said many, many, many times, “Naked girls are always good.” On Sunday, we had a late breakfast and then walked through Times Square on our way back to our hotel. And that’s when things ..read more

I took my cat to the vet for a wellness check this week. Her name is Magic the Cat and she is nine years old and she is beautiful and she is my best friend. “Hello, tiny man,” the vet said to Magic, who is obviously a tiny lady cat. She called Magic a “tiny man” two times. This was worrisome on multiple levels because Magic is a girl and a cat and not a man at all and where did this vet study veterinary medicine? Perhaps projecting my own feelings about being misgendered onto Magic, I was too embarrassed to correct the vet. They who? I got “they’d” a few weeks ago. I was waiting in line at Pet ..read more

The Flannel Files has a new obsession (besides Bryce Harper, Captain Marvel and my new Instant Pot). It’s a podcast called Dyking Out hosted by New York City-based comedians Carolyn Bergier and Sarah York. You had me at Dyke, Carolyn and Sarah. On each weekly episode, Carolyn and Sarah invite a guest to “dyke out” with them about a topic relevant to the LGBTQ world. But if you ask them, it’s really just another way to advance the gay agenda. Dyking Out is smart and fun and bingeable, much like a canister of Pringles. And very, very queer. So, yeah, think gay, rainbow Pringles, which really ..read more

I’ve been in a funk lately. Not the good kind of funk like Prince’s “Housequake” or Rick James’ “Superfreak.” But the other kind. Let me put it another way. My mood has been Orange Is the New Black, Season 5, which everyone knows is the darkest of all six seasons. I haven’t been blogging or doing any other kind of writing. I haven’t been doing much at all, besides watching cooking shows. For some reason, I find them comforting. The Phillies had their home opener yesterday. I lit a candle like I do every year and prayed to the baseball gods. This year, I prayed to Saint Bryce, the saint of the ..read more