Stone Butch Blues

A dear friend recommended this saying it had changed her life, so I picked up a copy, but secretly doubted it. This novel proved me wrong. The protagonist's struggle through the ongoing and ever-evolving gay landscape as a butch woman, then a stone butch, then a transman raised so many questions and answers for me about the missing chapters of gay history, butch/femme dynamics, the FTM gender transition process, etc. And aside from all that, it was a moving story of one person's struggle to find love, acceptance, and safety in a world (and a body) that makes that all the more complicated. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a great literary read, even outside the GLBT community.

This book is not only an important historical chronicle for the gay community, it is a compelling novel. The characters take on their own lives and make us care for them. They are true to the time in which they live. I was deeply touched by this book. I simply cannot recommend it highly enough. I think it is very important that we as a community realize where we have come from and appreciate the sacrifices others made for rights we now take for granted. Having said that, this book is never preachy. You could read it simply as a character study and it would stand on its own and still be fascinating. A must-read for any lesbian, but especially for any stone butch or butch. I am not a lesbian, I am just a lesbian-lover, but feel that this book gave me deeper insights into several women I have known through the years, and especially into the life of one very special friend.

I found Stone Butch Blues to be a truly amazing novel; I too had a hard time putting it down. As a heterosexual male from the SF Bay Area, I have been exposed to homosexuals, but have never really been "behind the scenes" of the struggle for gender equality. Stone Butch Blues was a gripping and consistently sad account of the life of a tough yet sensitive "butch" and I learned quite a bit from it. Jess definitely had to "walk a difficult path" in life as was prophecized early on by her neighbors and caretakers. The ever present emotional and physical struggles involved in Jess' life were heartbreaking and most of the time she found herself "drowning in loneliness." It is interesting to read the literary talent on display when Feinberg describes the first time Jess sees Rocco, or Jess' first dance, or when she asks Theresa to marry her. Feinberg has the ability to clearly describe these characters, create memorable scenes, and simultaneously lift your heart rate. I thoroughly enjoyed this eye and mind opening book and in the process gained an insight that formerly didn't exist.

Three days ago I began this book, today I finished it. I can not remember if I have ever read a book like this. I smiled and laughed out loud. My heart ached and I cried myself to sleep. As a femme, I wanted to reach out to Jess and protect her. It opened my heart and my mind. I think Jess is strong and beautiful. Praise to all the Butches out there who hurt and continue to struggle.

Author Leslie Feinberg has done a remarkable thing in the writing of Stone Butch Blues. The author has opened her soul to anyone who reads and exposed us each to our own fears of being different no matter how slight it may be. Being a gay male, reading this book was recommeded to me by a lesbian friend. At first I was reading it out of respect for my friend, but I found myself unable to put the book down. The story is endearing to anyone who desires to know more about the human spirit and the need and will to survive. I laughed, cried and saw myself in so many of the fears, questions, lonley times and good times experienced by Jess, the Stone Butch. Thank you Leslie Feinberg for the way you gave us a piece of your soul in the book and allowed us to become a little more accepting of our differences and of who we are.