General
butches
What does butches mean?
In ballroom, butches are trans men — people who present and live as masculine within the scene's six-part gender system. They're one of the four original gender categories the culture recognised (butch queens, femme queens, butches, women) before the system expanded. Note the scene-specific meaning: this isn't the broader lesbian sense of 'butch' — in ballroom it's a precise gender designation for trans-masculine walkers.
"The butches category was stacked tonight — half the floor came to compete."
Frequently asked questions
Is 'butches' in ballroom the same as 'butch' in lesbian slang?
No. In ballroom it's a gender category for trans men. The lesbian sense — a masculine-presenting woman — is a separate use of the word.
Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Vocabulary Flow — saved to your collection.
