A Brief Look at Stem(me) History
Wanted to know more about Black lesbian identities and I couldn't find a lot on Tumblr or Twitter so I did some research on stem/stemme myself. I'm not involved in queer discourse like that but I've noticed stemme being compared with futch both positively an negatively. The term "futch" is a mash up of butch and femme and the OG Futch Scale was posted 17th February 2011. In 2015, it got posted to Tumblr and became a meme, then an accidental "guide" on lesbian identity. Regardless of stances pro-futch or anti-futch I wanted to find info on stem/stemme as a Black lesbian identity for gender and gender expression. The modern definition of a stem/stemme is a Black lesbian whose gender expression and mannerisms fall between stud and femme. I've managed to find definitions not only supporting this but also definitions predating the futch scale, both pre and post meme version:
"Stem – A person whose gender expression falls somewhere between a stud and a femme. (See also ‘Femme’ and ‘Stud’.)" Stud is defined as "An African-American and/or Latina masculine lesbian. Also known as ‘butch’ or ‘aggressive’." (John Jay College of Criminal Justice LGBTQ+ Terminology, Eli R. Green, 2003-2004)
"Stemm
A stemm is a gay/lesbian female who dresses like a guy, and dresses like a girl.
Person 1: Look at that girl, she looks like a dude with all those guy clothes on, she has to be a stud
Person 2: Well she was wearing girly clothes yesterday, so I thought she was a femm
Person 3: Actually she's a stemm, she's wears boy clothes sometimes, and girl clothes other times" (Urban Dictionary definition of Stemm by user JenniferHill, November 8th 2009)
"A lesbian, who identifies as a Stemme, retains traits from both Femme and Stud/ Butch lesbians. Stemmes are in the center of the lesbian spectrum of classification and identities. Therefore, it is considered natural or common for Stemme lesbians to share the same behaviors as women of two diverse identity groups. Often times, the Stemme identity is viewed as the “transitional” stage of lesbianism, when a lesbian woman goes from being a Femme to a Stud/ Butch, or (on rear occasions) from a Stud/ Butch to a Femme... *In this blog the characteristic and behavioral difference between a Femme and a Stud is conjoined. The way a Femme or a Stud dresses is not the only way she can be identified. They can also be distinguished by their attitudes, actions and the way they interact with other people. A Stemme is the in-between identity of a Stud and Femme. She is apart of both groups and her identity is subject to change at anytime. A Stemme identity is often referred to as the transitional stage; however, some lesbian women remain a Stemme because they enjoy representing male and female dominance." (Lesbian Identity: Stemme, Nell S., 6th Nov 2009)
"'one who could switch up one day, she could be a femme and other occasions dress like she has a li’l hood, li’l ghetto inside her; a stemme – part femme part stud a tomboy'" (STORY OF INTEREST: Lesbian Speaks Out, Dominica News Online, April 12th 2010)
"Stemmes presented themselves one day as femme and another day as stud; as such, they were visibly unrecognisable unless they divulged their gender identity. Stemmes expose the amorphous nature of gender identity and are invisible – silenced, ostracised or prescribed a gender identity. Many participants refused to recognise that stemmes existed and instead described them as confused. As Shane (age 22) admitted: ‘Sometimes they [studs and femmes] think that we’re confused. We don’t know what we want to be.’ Stemmes show that personal identity claims were often at odds with community perceptions of identity." (Good gay females and babies' daddies: Black lesbian community norms and the acceptability of pregnancy, Sarah J. Reed, Robin Lin Miller, Maria T. Valenti & Tina M. Timm, 21st April 2011)
"Stem, described as a cross between or combination of stud and femme, is a label that was used to refer to a lesbian that presented both masculine and feminine traits and characteristics.
Short Dawg said, 'A stem, for me, is a little mixture of a lot of different things. One day you can be super feminine, and the next day you can be not so feminine.'" (Labelling, Butch, Femme Dyke Or Lipstick, Aren't All Lesbians The Same?: An Exploration Of Labels And "Looks" Among Lesbians In The U.S. South, Danielle Kerr, 2013)
Videos
Who has it harder in the world of lesbians? [studs? stems? or fems?}, iRoqStarStemme, 10th Jan 2011
WTH is a STEM??, AmbersCloset, 1st Feb 2013
The Black Lesbian Handbook: The Stem, Channel 4, 9th Feb 2015
There's a lot more I found and I'll post each article and video separately because they all go into more detail but tl;dr;
Stem(me) is an identity coined by Black lesbian spaces
Stem(me) mainly follows stud/femme dynamics rather than butch/femme (but can reference it)
Stem(me) predates the futch scale meme
Stem(me) is defined by clothing but also behaviours, so it can be a form of Black gender expression or gender itself
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✦ ── a flag for lesbians ( WLW, NBLW ) who are stems ( stud-fems ), or “soft butch.” this flag is, by definition, exclusive to black lesbians whose gender presentation or identity falls somewhere between stud and femme.
✧ ── studs are stereotypically masculine lesbians, whereas femmes are stereotypically feminine. stems are typically somewhere in-between, but being a stem is a wholly self-determined trait, for those who feel they don’t simply fall into one “category” or presentation, or the other.
tagging @abandonedknowledge !
[ Alt Text : READ MY PINNED MOTHERFUCKER ]
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not to be nsfw but something about thunderstorms always makes me feel things 🌫 Window open with the occasional cool breeze and let a sexy masc woman tenderly kiss me within this thunderstorm, until we become the bright lightning, carrying wind and pouring rain. being fingered by her under a blanket while we're cuddling. just kissing my neck and whispering praises into my ear while softly grinding against their hand. <3
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