General
butch queen
What does butch queen mean?
In ballroom's gender system, a butch queen is a gay or bisexual cisgender man. It's not an insult and it's not about being macho — it's a precise category label. Butch queens make up the biggest slice of the scene, and within their categories they can present anywhere from hard masculine (Realness, Sex Siren) all the way to full feminine illusion (Butch Queen Up in Pumps). The term comes straight out of Marlon Bailey's documentation of the culture and the scene's own vocabulary.
"He walks as a butch queen but tonight he's serving Realness, not Vogue Femme."
Frequently asked questions
What does "butch queen" mean?
In ballroom culture, a butch queen is a gay or bisexual cisgender man — the scene's largest gender population.
How do you use "butch queen" in a sentence?
"Most of the categories tonight are for butch queens."
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